


Dog Days

by AnimaLibra



Category: Free!
Genre: FLUFF incoming, M/M, Owner Haru, Owner Nagisa, Owner Rin, Past Abuse, Pet au, but nothing heavy mentioned, dogboy!Makoto, dogboy!Rei, dogboy!Sousuke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-11 03:51:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 149,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3312854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimaLibra/pseuds/AnimaLibra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin persuaded Haru that now was the right time to get their first pets. Olympics were over, their training was on hold for the moment and both had enough money that they could buy anything they wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First encounter

**Author's Note:**

> One evening I got stuck with this idea, so I wrote it down to get it out of my system.  
> Tell me if you're interested in it, and thanks for reading, please enjoy!

“See, I told you it was a good idea to come here” Rin nudged Haru with his elbow.

Haru shrugged. 

Both looked through the thick glass before them, studying the creatures inside it.

“So, which one do you want to get?” whispered the redhead to the other and smiled his trademark smile.

Haru shrugged. There was really too much variety.

“I really like this cute little kitten boy but man, this black dog guy has such great muscles”, fancied Rin without paying attention to his surroundings. 

Rin persuaded Haru that now was the right time to get their first pets. Olympics were over, their training was on hold for the moment and both had enough money that they could buy anything they wanted, houses, cars, women, maybe a small island if they searched enough.  
The new trend was having human pets, genetic fabricated mixes between human and animal. Of course they were expensive but not for the young males. These crossbreeds were officially animals so the animal protection law applied. Nevertheless not everyone treated them nicely and there were a lot of articles about abuse and mistreat. 

When Rin first suggested his idea about getting one, Haru was vehemently against it. In his eyes these “animals” were humans and had their own rights, buying one was against all his moral values. But as pestering as Rin can be, he didn’t give up and showing the other over and over again the advertising and commercials even Haru was so annoyed that one day he agreed only to shut the other up.

So a little bit later Rin dragged him along when he visited the animal shelter of human crossbreeds. In his opinion, it would be great to get an older one, which deserved a second chance because these would be more grateful than the other ones. Of course Rin romanticized this idea to such an extent that he had the opinion he would rescue this poor crossbreed from other bad people. Well, there were enough people worse than Rin, thought Haru to himself and sighed.

Seriously how could he choose between humans, and become an “owner”. He shuddered by this word. 

“Owner”. 

Seriously, nobody owns humans…

Shaking his head he observed again the big room on the other side of the glass panel, ignoring Rin’s babbling about the creatures inside. 

There were crossbreeds between human and cat, human and dog, even human and bunny. Both genders were separated to avoid sexual assaults. The good point was, like their salesman said previously, that the “pets” were infertile, so the “owner” didn’t have to use prevention, and of course it was to prevent intercourse and breeding between “pets”.

Right now they were looking at the male crossbreeds because in Rin’s opinion females would be too complicated and moody. 

As if men weren’t moody thought Haru and eyed his friend. 

There were at least 6 crossbreeds present. One of them was the black human dog Rin mentioned previously. He was at least 183cm tall, maybe even taller. He had short black hair, black ears and a long black tail near his tailbone. His statue was muscular, as if he would work out every day and his skin was colored in a slight tan. He wore a black tank top and black simple shorts, nothing else, exposing his bare skin.  
On his left shoulder was a big white scar formed as a star whereas his arms were covered in smaller ones. 

Each one of them telling its own story, thought Haru sadly.

Then he switched his gaze over to the catboy Rin also favored.  
He had a smaller stature, almost androgyny, and was tinier than most of the other guys. Silver strains of hair covered his face and a silver haired tail twined around his waist like a belt. He was sitting in a corner by himself, obviously too shy to interact with the others. But another dogboy jumped at him, he had bright orange hair and golden eyes. Haru couldn’t understand what they were talking about because of the glass panel but it seemed like the other cheered the silver haired up. 

Studying the other crossbreeds, his eyes fell on one of the other dog crossbreeds. He was crouching on one of the beds, hugging something small and fluffy. He didn’t pay attention to his surroundings but looked…scared? His shaggy brown bangs hid his eyes and Haru could only see the floppy ears on his head. They looked soft, thought the blackhead to himself. Inspecting the rest of the crossbreed, he noticed that he was indeed muscular and tanned.  
Did he shiver? He was wearing a green t-shirt and dark brown shorts, maybe he was cold?  
Haru took a step forward. He had the urge to hug this poor guy, he looked miserable, shivering and crouching like this, then he felt a hand on his arm. He eyed the intrusion of his personal space and realized that it was Rin who touched him.

“I said if you want to come with me?”

Confused Haru looked into red sparkling eyes. Fortunately Rin now knew that the last couple of minutes his friend wasn’t paying attention to him so he repeated his question.

“Do you want to come with me into the pet room?”

Haru blinked a few times.

“But it’s closed?”

“No man! The salesman is going to open it for us so we can get to know the pets.”

“They…can talk?”

“Of course they can, are you dumb Haru?” exclaimed the redhead exaggerated. “They can speak fluently and do almost everything.” He grinned at the last word.

How could he doubt that they couldn’t speak? Of course they did, they were humans like him. 

“I’m coming with you, I’m afraid you threaten or frighten them with your face.”

“Tch…polite as ever fishhead”, replied Rin and poked his side. “Come on, he’s already waiting for us.”

 

 

Inside the pet room the salesman cleared his throat audibly so the crossbreeds switched their attention to the three humans at the entrance.

“Good afternoon everybody! These are Mr. Matsuoka and Mr. Nanase. They are planning to adopt two of you so be nice to them and greet them politely.”

All eyes on the two friends, Haru turned his gaze to his feet. He really hated being the centre of attention and 6 people staring at him filled him with uneasiness and nervousness. Good thing Rin loved the attention and spoke first.

“Eh hello everybody! My name is Rin and this is Haruka.” Haru flinched when the redhead used his full name, god he hated it so much, it sounded so girly. “We are both looking for pets and two of you will get a second chance to come with us.”

Haru peeked at Rin and nodded.

In an instant they were surrounded by 4 crossbreeds asking every possible question. How old they were, what they were doing, where they lived etc.  
Haru didn’t really pay attention, only shrugged or nodded according to the reactions of his friend. Counting the “pets” he noticed that two were missing, one of them was the black dogboy, leaning against the wall and stared at them with his teal eyes and a frown on his forehead. When their gazes met he glared at the human viciously. Cursing inside Haru glared back. Something was rubbing him the wrong way with this one so he switched his view to the other missing crossbreed. 

It was the dogboy on the bed. Still crouching on it, he looked at the humans curiously. Now Haru could recognize his eyes, they were a bright green, like lushly grass fields, or emeralds.  
For a brief moment their eyes met and Haru felt something warm growing inside. Anxiously the dogboy turned shyly his eyes down and closed them tightly. He hugged the white plush cat in his arms and hid his face behind it.

Returning to reality Haru peeked at Rin who was still speaking ambitiously about his life. The others had already lost their interest in him because of his passiveness, like always thought Haru to himself. He walked slowly away from the crowd and converged to the bed.  
He stopped a few steps before the bed and eyed the brunette dogboy curiously. He was approximately as tall as the other dogboy but not as muscular. Handsome, thought Haru to himself when he inspected him closer.  
Then the nose of the dogboy twitched and it sniffed at the air. Blinking a few times he looked at his counterpart surprised. His eyes became big and he opened his mouth, but nothing was said. They stared at each other for several moments in silence. Breaking the spell the human introduced himself first, his voice calm, deep and gentle.

“I’m Haru.”

The dogboy blinked again and turned his gaze to the white plush cat in his arms.

“I-I-I’m…M-Makoto…” he stuttered nervously.

“Nice to meet you Makoto”, replied the other and took a step forward. Immediately Makoto pressed his back against the wall and his ears turned to the back of his head.

Noticing the uneasiness and fear in the dogboy’s eyes he stepped backwards and lifted his hands in an appeasing gesture to show the other that he didn’t mean any harm.  
Makoto relaxed and his ears went back to his usual floppy form.

“Sorry.”

“Eh…n-n-no you don’t have to be sorry…”answered the other shyly. “I-I-It’s been a while since I t-t-talked to a h-human…normally”, replied the dogboy and smiled.

Haru’s eyes became big, and his case that meant a lot. He couldn’t hold his usual neutral attitude after seeing this sweet and gentle smile. His inside became warm again. He wanted to see him smile more…  
A part of him was disappointed when the smile vanished, he had to see it again, make the other smile again…

Oblivious of Haru’s reaction Makoto looked shyly at the human and squeezed his little cat. This human was so pretty, his eyes were a deep blue, like the ocean, and he was proud that he remembered the pictures of the ocean he saw once, and he was slender but muscular, and his skin was so white…

Embarrassed Makoto hid his face behind the plush cat. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t get involved with humans anymore, humans were bad…they hurt him…

Haru knew in this moment that he wanted Makoto. His behavior and smile bewitched him, making him feel emotions he only had when he was swimming. 

“Makoto.” He looked at the dogboy honestly. Surprised green eyes met serious blue ones.

Makoto shivered. He liked how the human said his name, it was…nice…  
And it’s been a while since somebody called him by his given name, without shouting or cursing. 

“Do you want to come with me?” 

He stopped breathing. Did he hear it right?

Somebody wanted him? Him?

There had to be a mistake otherwise he couldn’t explain it. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and took one shaky breath. Regaining his composure he opened his eyes again and peeked shyly at the human.

“S-s-so you want m-m-me?” He asked in a soft voice, filled with anxiety and expectation.

Haru simply nodded.

The dogboy hugged his white plush cat tightly. He couldn’t believe his ears. This pretty human wanted to take him away from this place.  
Makoto never dared to think about leaving this place, nurturing false hope was hurting him at the end, so much he already knew. And sometimes, when he was strong enough, he dreamt about somebody who would take him away, and like him, and treat him…nicely…  
But he knew that dreams would always remain dreams.  
But now, this was reality…  
He rubbed his eyes and looked at Haru again.

So it wasn’t a dream…

Maybe, maybe this time would be different. 

A small light of hope illuminated Makoto’s heart, at least what was left of it. His chest felt warm, pleasantly warm.

He lowered his head and nodded shyly. 

Haru had to suppress a chuckle when he saw the tail, hidden behind the dogboy’s back, wagging wildly.

Cute.

The intimate moment was interrupted by Rin’s yell. Both turned their heads abruptly, looking at the other human in surprise. 

“Oy! Stop ignoring me! I want to talk to you!” shouted the redhead at the black dogboy.

The other turned his head away and feigned ignorance.

Rin frowned angrily. Fed up he took the other’s head in his hand and turned it forcibly around.

“Look me in the eyes when I’m talking to you!” He complained.

Flabbergasted the dogboy gaped. Looking at red eyes full of fire he held his breath.  
Pleased with his reaction Rin let him go and smiled. 

“See, that’s how we talk to each other! My name’s Rin. What’s yours?” He asked while grinning.

“S-sousuke”, stuttered the other, still quite in shock.

“Nice to meet you Sousuke, I’m trying to find a new pet for myself so can you tell me…who would be your perfect owner?”

Haru spluttered, suppressing a chuckle. Romantic shojo nerd.

The dogboy looked at him, processing his words and asking himself if he was rearing right but the earnestness in the redhead’s eyes gave him the answer.

Sousuke laughed.

“H-H-hey don’t laugh at me! That’s a serious question!” Pouting, Rin crossed his arms and frowned. 

After catching his breath and wiping away his tears the dogboy smiled at the human.  
This was the first time somebody asked him such a question, and he really had no answer for it because he never pictured the perfect owner. Humans weren’t perfect so there never would be the perfect one.

Rin was surprised when he saw the other’s smile. It suited him so much better than the glaring and frowning. And he looked so…gentle…  
His heart fluttered and in this moment Rin knew that he liked his smile the most.

“I can’t give you an answer Rin”, replied Sousuke honestly.

Teal eyes…

Rin shook his head. Get it together Matsuoka, he lectured himself. 

“O-okay nevertheless thanks for you honesty big guy.”

“Mhm”, hummed the dogboy as response, amused about the casual nickname.

The redhead jerkily turned around and walked over to the door.

“Haru, come on!”

Haru shrugged, nodding one last time in the direction of Makoto and followed his friend outside.

 

Rin and Haru went into the advisor’s office.

“Ah! Mr. Matsuoka and Mr. Nanase! And, did you find something you like?” He asked politely with a professional smile.

“Ah…well…I’m still thinking about my choice”, answered Rin unsure.

“Take your time, and if you want you can go inside again. May I ask which one caught your eye?”

Curious eyes studied the redhead.

“Eh…well…I’m wavering between the Aiichirou catboy and the Sousuke dogboy.”

The salesman nodded.

“Mhm I see the difficulty. Both are very different in character and stature. I have to say that the Sousuke dogboy can be really difficult to handle. Some previous owners were complaining about his bad attitude and aggressiveness. On the other side the Aiichirou catboy has one previous owner who returned him due to lack of interest.”

Listening attentively Rin looked at his hands, “I see.”

“Please consider this information when you choose one.”

Turning to Haru with a smile, he asked,

“And you Mr. Nanase, did you find something you like?”

Again something…Haru would like to slap the other man but he knew that it was inappropriate at the moment.

“I’ll take Makoto” he answered flatly.

For a moment the salesman walked through the pet names in his head.

“Ah! You mean the brown dogboy.”

Haru nodded.

“Well because he was living here for so long, I’ll give you a discount” proposed the man.

The blackhead frowned and gritted his teeth.

“I don’t need it” he replied angrily.

“Oh it was only an offer; you don’t have to take it if you don’t want it” appeased the salesman.  
“Then I’ll start preparing the necessary forms, meanwhile you can think about your choice Mr. Matsuoka.”

He turned around and rummaged through his file cabinet.

“What do you think Haru?” whispered Rin nervously.

“I don’t know, take the one you felt connected with” replied Haru with a shrug.

“Aw man can you stop talking in riddles and say something useful?”

Haru sighed.

“Rin. Imagine your daily life with them, which one would you prefer? Think about what you like about them, and which one you like the most.”

The redhead gaped. He said more than he used to say and it was constructive, not some abstract nonsense about invisible bonds or living water. 

“That was…thank you Haru…” he whispered as reply. 

The other nodded and turned his gaze back to the salesman.

Rin thought about the two pets, evaluating them separately.  
The Aiichirou catboy was cute, a matter of fact. And he could easily imagine that he would wait for him every day, doing everything he wanted and adoring him from the bottom of his heart. Of course he had to deal with the other’s shyness but after a while it shouldn’t be a problem.  
On the other side was the Sousuke dogboy. Strong, masculine, stubborn. He seemed like the grumpy dog, ignoring his owner if he wasn’t respected by him but when you earned his respect and favor, he would be the most loyal one. He wouldn’t do things because his owner would say so but because he had the same opinion as him. It would be a lot of work and hardship but the price at the end was tempting him.

Rin looked at his hands.

On the left side, the catboy who was easy going and would follow him everywhere without question and on the right side the dogboy who would give him contra, questioning his choices, but walking by his side.

Rin was a competitive person, he loved racing others, accepting new challenges with a smile on his face, and when he finally finished them, he was happy and knew that his new self was stronger than before.

Closing his eyes, the redhead smiled his toothy grin.

“Here are the forms of ownership for the Makoto dogboy” the salesman handed the papers over to Haru and turned to Rin, “so did you come to a decision Mr. Matsuoka?”

“Yes! I’ll take the Sousuke dogboy!”

The man spluttered. “Are you serious?”

“Of course!”

“Very well, I’ll look for the forms right away, meanwhile you can choose your collar for your new pets, it’s a sign of ownership. Here’s the catalogue.” He gave them a fancy printed catalogue and turned back to his search.

Haru frowned.

“I don’t want him wearing a collar.”

Looking over his shoulder, the salesman replied “oh but you have to Mr. Nanase, otherwise others might claim him, or worse…”

Worse?

He shook his head. He really didn’t want to think about the worse things, he had a pretty much good idea about what he was referring too. Nevertheless collars were for animals, not for humans weren’t they? And Makoto was a human…okay a human with dog ears and a tail and…

Haru frowned.

“Hey Haru don’t take it so seriously, choose one, and let him wear it outside. When you’re at home you can take it off, right?” reassured Rin his friend.

Thinking for a few moments, Haru nodded.

They went through the catalogue, when Rin shouted,

“Wow this is so cool! I want that!” 

Haru eyed him. 

“W-w-what?”

“Rin…there’s a skull with red ruby eyes on it…”

“Yeah! Isn’t that cool?!”

“…”

It was a thick black leather collar in a simple design. It had silver spikes around his outer part and at the front was a metal skull with ruby jewels as its eyes. 

“I mean I also liked the tiger pattern one, but I don’t know if he would like it, so I’ll choose this one.”

As if this was any better, sighed Haru in his mind.

“And did you choose one?” asked Rin expectantly.

Haru shrugged. He didn’t like the collar idea and he didn’t know what Makoto liked. It was like a gamble. Inspecting each collar model closely, his eyes got caught on at the corner of the page.  
It was a brown leather collar, simple design, nothing special but the color matched the brown hair of Makoto and…Haru blinked a few times…it was riddled with a line of emerald jewels.  
It would match him really well but maybe it was too girly? He was a boy and Haru knew how sensitive somebody could get if his manliness was questioned. Peeking at Rin he turned his gaze back to the collar picture.

The redhead followed the other’s eyes and inspected the source of his interest. Surprised, he eyed his friend.

“That is…I don’t know how to say it…”

“Girly?” finished Haru flatly.

“Urgh…well…I didn’t mean to…”

“I thought it would suit him” he continued thoughtfully.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you, take what you want, I’m sure he’ll like it.”

Uneasy Haru looked at Rin. The gentle smile the redhead showed him let his uneasiness disappear. Rin could say the right words on the right time, thought Haru to himself. Well…sometimes he corrected himself.

When the salesman turned his attention back to the two young man across his table, he gave Rin a package of papers.

“Mr. Matsuoka, could you please fill out the formalities? Later, we will get through it together with Mr. Nanase because it’s identical.”

“Yeah, okay” replied the redhead and took one of the pencils.

“Oh and could you tell me which collars you chose so I can inform our stock?” added the salesman politely.

“Eh yeah, I chose this one”, explained Rin and pointed at the black skull collar, “and Haru chose this one”, again he pointed at the other chosen one.

“Mhm I see. But I have to inform you that the price…”

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter” interrupted the other flatly.

The man cleared his throat. “Very well. I’ll inform our stock, I hope you don’t mind that I’ll take a quick call?” 

“No it’s okay.”

The salesman left the room and both guys were alone in the office.

Rin was skipping through the papers while Haru inspected the room more precisely. There were expensive paintings on the wall, not as good as, thought the blackhead to himself smugly.  
The table was large and clean, maybe mahogany? Paper stocks were stacking at its sides and in the middle was a desk blotter with the official emblem for crossbreeds. 

His thoughts were interrupted when the office owner returned. He pocketed his cell phone back into his jacket and smiled at the two clients. Sitting across from them, he leaned forward.

“The collars are on its way. Mr. Matsuoka, are you ready?”

“Oh yeah, man, that’s really a lot of stuff to fill out.”

“Of course. We think highly of our pets and we wish that every one of them finds a nice place. I have to inform you that abusive treating, like beating or torturing, is against the official animal protection law. If something like this gets out, you will be banned from owning a crossbreed for several years, according to the severity of your actions. Additionally it is prohibited to sell crossbreeds privately, if you’re dissatisfied with your pet, please contact us and we will take it back. Then you can choose another one if you want.”

Haru and Rin looked at each other while the salesman was speaking. As if they would do something like that... On the other side, if the man had to explicitly say this, then somebody already did these cruel acts. Both shivered uncomfortably.

“I’ll now give you your identification certificate. Please keep it safe because it’s really important. It explains that you, and only you, are the owners of your pets, officially. If somebody, like the police or animal protection office asks for it, please hand them a copy over. When you want to exchange your pet, please bring it with you, otherwise we aren’t able to take it back. If you have any questions about this, please contact me. Another problem, you have to be aware of is, that there are a lot of robbery cases of crossbreeds. Keep in mind that it can be quite dangerous to leave your pet alone in the public.”

Both swallowed. There was a lot they didn’t consider or never thought about it.

“So…eh…do we have to take something else in consideration, I mean in terms of daily life and needs?” asked Rin nervously.

“Oh, because you both bought male crossbreeds, you don’t have to feed them heat suppressants. Otherwise they can use the bathroom like us and some can even cook if you want.”

“Eh…okay thank you.” Rin rubbed his neck embarrassed.

The conversation stopped when they heard a knock on the door.

The salesman stood up. “Please excuse me for a moment, your collars arrived.”

He went over to the door and took a small package in his hands. Returning to his seat he placed the package on top of his desk and opened it cautiously. He extracted the black collar and handed it Rin over, after that he took the brown one and placed it into Haru’s hands.  
Both inspected their choices. Feeling the cold soft leather, Haru traced every little emerald with his fingertips, it was so beautiful…  
Meanwhile Rin grinned at the skull and poked its red eyes playfully.  
Giving them a few moments the salesman continued after the two paid attention again.

“Are you both ready to take your pets with you?”

 

After the two humans left, everybody went quiet for a minute, then some of the crossbreeds chattered excitedly about the handsome redhead, hoping that he would choose one of them.  
Ignoring the other’s conversations Makoto turned his eyes to his white plush cat.  
“Ne Shiro, do you think he really will come back for us?” He whispered softly. Closing his eyes, he secretly hoped that he would come back, taking him away from this place. Yes, he would miss the others, the catboys were really nice to him and sometimes he could pet their heads, but seeing the other’s leave one after the other while he remained here…it hurt…he was happy for them and every time he said good bye with a smile on his face, praying for his friends to find a nice comfortable home, but then he felt empty inside. The only one who didn’t left was Shiro, and he was so grateful for it.  
Hugging the white plush cat he looked surprised up when something heavy was sitting beside him.

“Yo.”

“Oh S-s-sousuke-kun. Everything all right?” asked the brunette dogboy shyly.

“Mhm, yeah.” 

In contrast to the rest of the crossbreeds Makoto liked Sousuke. He was quiet and often grumpy but deep inside he was nice and gentle. Maybe it had something to do with both of them being dog crossbreeds, nevertheless he enjoyed his company. Thanks to his presence his anxiety calmed down and both didn’t need to talk as much as the others, it was enough sitting side by side.

“So what do you think about them?” asked Sousuke while observing the other crossbreeds.

“Huh?” Surprised Makoto looked at the black dogboy.

“I mean the humans.”

“Oh…” he tilted his head and waggled his tail from side to side, deep in thoughts. “Hm… I think they seem nice” he replied shyly.

The other grunted.

“What do you think?” asked the brunette dog curiously.

Sousuke shrugged. 

Humans were good actors, first they were all nice but later they beat and shouted at you…

He peeked at the other dog. Makoto was too nice for his own good, the both of them experienced the same things but instead of getting angry like him, he became shy and anxious. Sometimes he wondered how Makoto was before all this had happened to him because from time to time he smiled at him innocently or blossomed out when he was talking about things he liked.

Sitting side by side in silence both were lost in their thoughts.

 

The two dogboys were startled when they heard the creaking door opened.

The salesman was the first one they saw, followed by the other two humans.  
Sousuke frowned. He peeked at the dogboy beside him who was shivering uncontrollably.

“Hey Makoto…” he said full of worry.

He was interrupted when the salesman walked straight to them.

“Congratulations, you have found a new owner!” He exclaimed cheerfully while the rest of the crossbreeds sighed disappointedly.

Still feeling the shivering companion beside him he glared at the humans angrily. 

Haru ignored the black dogboy and turned to Makoto.

“Makoto”, he said softly, look at me.

Recognizing the calm voice the brunette dogboy looked shyly up and the shivering stopped.

“You…came…b-b-back?” He asked anxiously with big eyes.

Haru hummed. As promised.

Taking slowly a step forward, he studied the other curiously. No reaction, good. Then he showed the dogboy the collar he picked.  
Nervously he waited for the other’s reaction. Would he like it?

Makoto was speechless. The human… his human, returned…to take him…and he even bought a beautiful collar for him. Curiously he inspected it, admiring the little jewels on it and the sparkling light they reflected.

“It’s beautiful…” whispered Makoto softly while hugging Shiro. 

Pleased with his answer, Haru crouched beside him and gave him his new collar. Feeling the soft leather Makoto’s eyes sparkled and his tail wagged wildly.

Sousuke eyed the black haired human critically but Makoto’s reaction was so obvious…  
He internally sighed. Hopefully the other was happy with his new owner and that the human would treat him right…otherwise…Sousuke narrowed his eyes…

“Hey.”

Astonished the black dogboy looked at the redhead. His toothy grin was wide and…wait did he have shark teeth? Confused Sousuke looked at the collar the other shoved into his lap. He cautiously picked it up and studied it closely. Black and soft, silver spikes but not sharp, and a silver skull with red eyes. The dogboy chuckled, it really matched Rin’s attitude and taste.

“So you like it?” asked Rin with a soft and nervous voice.

Sousuke closed his eyes. Maybe this time would work. For both of them.

He looked at the other playfully and replied,

“Yeah, it’s nice…maybe a little bit flashy…” he added and smirked.

“Oy! It’s not flashy, it’s super cool man! Are you blind?!” complained Rin. “Tch!”

Pouting Rin crossed his arms and turned his head away. When he peeked at the black dogboy again, his eyes became wide…there it is….this smile again…

Arms akimbo, the redhead grinned at his new pet.

“Let’s go home big guy!”


	2. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto's and Sousuke's first day in their new homes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive response and support :)  
> I'm so happy you like the idea.  
> I try to divide each chapter into a MakoHaru and Sourin parts instead of posting 2 chapters. I hope it's okay with you.  
> Again thanks a lot and have fun with the new chapter ;)

Haru opened his front door.

“Come in” he gestured the dogboy convivially.

Shyly Makoto looked at the doorstep before him. This was his new home. He squeezed his plush cat tightly and looked after his new owner. The human was already walking into the hallway, expectantly waiting for him.  
Again Makoto eyed the doorstep. Maybe it didn’t look like it but for him it was a big step. Entering someone else territory like that, he felt nervous and uneasy. There was no going back.

“Makoto.” Blue eyes watched him with concern. It’s okay, you can do it.

Closing his eyes he hesitantly crossed the threshold. Nothing happened. He blinked a few times and smiled brightly. Nothing happened. His tail was waggling excitedly. Content, Haru waved at him and walked into the kitchen. The dogboy followed obediently, studying his surroundings curiously. 

He didn’t bring much with him. He only had the plush cat, another set of clothes, a toothbrush and one towel.  
When Haru first saw Makoto, his arms filled with his few possessions, his heart stung. But the dogboy didn’t seem to mind.  
They could have given him at least a bag or something, thought Haru grumpily while helping him carrying his stuff.

“This is my kitchen.” He stood beside the oven, asking himself what he could explain additionally. But kitchen was kitchen, and it was obvious what you were doing there, right?

“Haru…” shyly the dogboy looked at him with ears placed back. 

“Hm?”

“Is…this…y-y-your house?” asked Makoto while waggling his tail nervously.

“Yes” replied Haru flatly.

Again the other looked around.

“E-e-everything?”

“Mhm.”

Makoto’s eyes became wide. “B-b-but it’s so big!” he said confused.

“It’s not that big, my parents owned it, now I’m living here alone” explained Haru while looking in the fridge. 

The dogboy studied cautiously the kitchen. He didn’t like kitchen, it was a scary place with a lot of sharp things, like…knives....he shuddered and turned his gaze to the adjoining living room. There was a big table in the middle, surrounded by seat cushions. Little shelves were placed at the walls, containing books, flowers and little figures. A little TV was standing on one of them, looking like it wasn’t used much. 

Cozy, thought Makoto. 

“Oh, you can drop your things on the table if you want” added Haru while rummaging through the fridge.

Obediently Makoto walked slowly into the living room, paying attention that he wouldn’t touch anything except the table. When he dropped his possessions, except Shiro because he was always with him, he wrapped the white plush cat in his arms and let his eyes wander again.

On the other side of the room was a big sliding door. Was this…

His tail waggled wildly.

He peeked at the human and asked excitedly,

D-d-do you have a garden?”

Big green eyes were shining with anticipation. Haru didn’t know why the other was so excited, it was only a little garden, nothing more.

“Yes, I’ll show you if you want to…”

So he walked through the living room and opened the sliding door.

Makoto followed him with his gaze, not sure if he was allowed to move. Excited it was difficult for him to stand still, so he shifted from one foot to another while his tail was still wagging in every possible direction. 

Looking over his shoulder, Haru noticed the still standing dogboy, obviously on edge.

Why didn’t he follow?

“You can check it out if you want.”

Suddenly a brown shadow passed him and in the next moment Makoto was rolling happily in the grass. He barked merrily while sniffing at the grass and flowers. 

It was sooooo long since the last time he saw grass, or felt grass. He enjoyed the fresh smell and the soft touch. He rubbed his cheek on it and enjoyed the feeling. So soft…   
How he had missed grass. And there were flowers, too! He loved flowers! Flowers were nice and pretty and smelled good. He studied the flowers excitedly with wagging tail. There were tulips, a bush of roses and gerberas. 

Haru was watching the whole scene and chuckled. He never saw somebody who was this excited to see his garden. With the wagging tail, the sparkling green eyes and the floppy ears he looked so…cute…  
Haru shook his head. A 180cm tall and muscular guy wasn’t cute, but…he couldn’t deny that he was endearing…

When the first excitement vanished Makoto looked guiltily around. He had forgotten that his owner was watching and he didn’t want show him his bad side, loosing control like that. He even barked a few times…ashamed he ducked his head. Cautiously he peeked at the human and walked slowly to him.  
“I-I-I’m s-s-sorry Nanase-san I-I-I kind of…lost c-c-control and…it’s been a while since I felt g-g-grass. I’m really s-s-orry please…” he stuttered helplessly, clutching Shiro tightly. When he finished he closed his eyes, and his tail was drawn between his legs, he was afraid of what was coming next. Shouting? Beating? Normally he never lost control like that because losing control made his other owners mad and then they would shout at him and…

Makoto shivered uncontrollably, lost in unwanted memories.

“It’s okay Makoto. I’m glad you enjoy the garden.”

His shivers stopped. With wide eyes he looked at the human.

“And don’t call me Nanase-san, I’m Haru, remember?” added Haru gently. 

He was stunned. 

The human looked worriedly at the frozen dogboy. “Are you okay?”

“Y-y-you’re not a-a-a…angry?” asked the other shyly.

“No?” replied Haru confused.

And then Makoto smiled brightly, thankful for his new owner, his new human.

“Thank you”, he said softly while he still smiled gratefully.

Haru gaped. Makoto’s smile was blinding, it shone so brightly at him that he couldn’t turn his eyes of.

Regaining some of his composure he mumbled “you don’t have to thank me” and turned his head to the side.

“Of course I do”, chirped the dogboy happily, “you’re not angry with me!”

Puzzled his human asked hesitantly, “why would I?”

“Eh…” Makoto’s smile vanished and filled with uneasiness he shifted from one foot to the other, his ears retreated. “I d-d-didn’t pay attention to you and I-I-I lost c-c-control and I-I even b-b-barked” answered the dogboy shamefully and turned his gaze down.

Seeing the other’s discomfort Haru didn’t know what to do. 

“Hey, Makoto calm down, it’s not bad. I’m not angry” he said hurriedly trying to reassure him.

Shyly he peeked at the blackhead and relaxed.

“Right…thank you…Haru”, he whispered softly. He already liked the name. Haru…it sounded nice…

Haru shivered. The dogboy said his name so gentle and tender that he felt a shiver running down his spine.  
Clearing his throat, he asked,

“Shall I show you the rest of the house or do you want to eat first?” 

Makoto’s ears twitched. Food? The last time he ate something was…in the morning? He didn’t remember clearly, the pet room didn’t have any windows so it was hard to tell the time of day. And he was always kind of hungry, even after eating. Everybody got the same amount of food ratio but Makoto and Sousuke were big so it wasn’t nearly enough for them. He didn’t like that Sousuke was hungry because Sousuke was his friend so he shared his meal with him, telling the other that he was already full.

The dogboy shook his head. Concentrate.

He could choose, and it was new for him. He never had the opportunity to choose, everybody always told him what to do or not to do, and now…  
He thought about the other’s question. Seeing the rest of the house was important and interesting, but eating and…food… was very important too. What would Haru do? Which one did he prefer? 

Makoto looked shyly at the human trying to find out what he was thinking.

Haru waited patiently for his answer, turning the corner of his lips a little bit upward in a friendly manner.

What should he do?

Nervously his tail waggled from side to side.

“Eh…Haru...w-w-what do you w-w-want to do?” asked Makoto shyly.

“Doesn’t’ matter”, replied the other flatly.

“Of course it m-m-matters!” he said scandalized.

“It’s your choice”.

“Eh…” Makoto looked at his feet. He didn’t want to anger his human but he didn’t know how to choose. Did it mean that they would do only one thing? That he would loose the other? How should he choose, both were important…  
Still looking at the ground he answered in a tiny voice, “I…d-don’t know…”

Confused Haru studied the dogboy. Why couldn’t he answer the question? Didn’t he understand it? But he already asked him for his opinion so he knew what it was about…he seemed anxious…why?

“Why don’t you know?” asked the human puzzled.

The dogboy peeked briefly at the other before turning his gaze down. “I-i-I don’t k-k-know which one I s-s-should choose.”

“Do what you want” replied Haru flatly.

Do what I want? Makoto’s eyes became big. What did he want? His tail stopped midair. What did he want?

With big eyes he looked helplessly at his human.

Reassuring the dogboy, Haru said gently, “I’m fine with both, so tell me which one you prefer.”

“B-b-but…” Makoto clenched his fists. He did it. He made his first choice.

Curiously Haru eyed the other, waiting for him to continue.

The dogboy took a deep breath. “I w-w-want to do both.” There it was. Makoto was surprised and proud of himself, he did it and he said it, almost without stuttering. With a tiny smile on his lips and a waggling tail, he looked expectantly at his human, waiting for his answer.

Haru almost chuckled, the dogboy looked so adorable.

“Fine. So what shall we do first?”

Makoto frowned, tilted his head and said unsurely, “Food?” 

“Good choice, I’ll cook us something” Haru replied and turned around, walking straight to the kitchen.

The dogboy stumbled after him and asked surprised, “y-y-you can cook?” 

“Uh huh,” he replied while taking some slices of mackerel out of his fridge. 

Curious, Makoto took a few steps forward and sniffed. He tilted his head quizzically. What was this? It smelled like fish but somehow different.

He tried to peek at the food his human prepared but he wasn’t close enough. He didn’t dare to come any closer, what if he would get in the other’s way?

Noticing Makoto’s curiosity, Haru looked over his shoulder and inspected him.

“You can come closer, if you want.”

Shyly the dogboy walked cautiously closer. He peeked over the other’s shoulder. So it was fish but it smelled different…Sniffing a few times Makoto tilted his head again while his tail was waggling from side to side.

“W-w-what are you c-cooking?”

“Mackerel” replied Haru as if it was obvious.

“Mackerel?” The dogboy cerebrated. He never saw, smelled or tasted mackerel. Was it something popular? Something he HAD to know? Confused he looked at his plush cat asking silently for help.

“You don’t know mackerel?” Haru was in shock.

Taking a few steps backwards the dogboy lowered his head. “No…” he answered softly, ashamed that his human was disappointed of him.

Haru’s eyes became soft after looking at the other. He continued enthusiastically, “don’t worry Makoto, you will get to know mackerel. Mackerel is the best and most delicious fish. I eat it everyday!”

Relieved he looked at his human. “R-r-really?”

“Yes”, replied the other confidently.

Makoto smiled. His human was so nice.

“You can go back to the garden or living room. Watching me cooking is boring.”

“N-n-no that’s not the case…”stuttered the dogboy shyly, but the garden was really tempting… he turned his head and looked at the green grass from afar. Wagging nervously and stepping from one foot to another, he peeked at his human. “I-I-I’ll go to the g-garden, okay?”

Haru hummed approvingly.

“Thank you” squeaked the dogboy and rushed back to his favorite place. 

 

Both sat on the table in the living room, now covered with dishes. Makoto’s mouth was watering. It smelled so delicious… He sniffed hungrily at the steaming fish.

“Itadakimasu”, mumbled Haru and took his chopsticks.

Observing his human curiously, Makoto did the same. 

“I-Itadakimasu” he said softly. 

He couldn’t handle chopsticks well because in his past he didn’t have many opportunities to use them so he was still insecure. Fumbling with the two chopsticks in his hand, he desperately tried to adjust them right. Haru chewed on one bite of mackerel when he noticed the other’s problem. Without thinking he dropped his own chopsticks and overlapped the dogboy’s hands with his own.

“You have to hold them like this” explained Haru while adjusting the other’s grip.

Makoto blushed. Overwhelmed with the sudden body contact he froze. Somebody touched him. His human touched him…and it was…gentle…  
His eyes became big. Haru’s hands were warm and soft…  
After a few moments the warmth was away and Haru returned to his previous sitting position.

“There.”

Makoto was still looking at his hands when he finally snapped out of his frozen state.

Flustered he squeaked an awkward “thank you” and began eating.

After the first bite he couldn’t suppress a soft moan. It was so tasty! He had never eaten something this delicious so he greedily devoured the meal before him.  
Pleased with Makoto’s reaction Haru smirked smugly. 

 

At the evening, after showing the dogboy the rest of the house and answering his questions, Haru took the spare futon out of his closet. 

“I only have a futon for you at the moment but we can buy you a real bed later, hope you don’t mind” said the human while rolling it out on the floor of his room. 

He was still using his old teenager room because he felt more comfortable in it. When he became older, he moved his old desk to the next room and replaced his old bed with a new double sized one. He didn’t use many of the other rooms, so Makoto would get his own one someday but he still had to prepare it and therefore both were sleeping in the same room. Especially because Makoto was easily frightened and new to his surroundings, he tried to reassure the dogboy with this.  
Making a mind note for himself, he decided that he needed to read dog books so he could understand Makoto’s other animal part better.

“N-n-no it’s okay, thank you Haru” replied the dogboy while standing beside his human, watching what he was doing. He was wearing his other set of clothes. When Haru peeked at him he noted that they would have to go shopping soon to buy more clothes for his new companion. His wouldn’t fit him, they already tried out in vain. 

Makoto hugged his plush cat Shiro and snuggled into the soft fur. He was really tired, it has been a long day for him, so many new things…  
He smiled, thinking about his new owner, the wonderful garden and the delicious food. His thoughts were interrupted when Haru announced that the futon was ready.  
Shyly he walked to his new sleeping place and crawled under the blanket. Cosy. 

“I’ll be sleeping in the bed over there, if something is wrong, tell me, I’m here” added Haru and went to his own bed. “I’ll switch off the light. Good night, Makoto.”

“O-o-okay…g-good night Haru” answered the dogboy and cuddled with Shiro. Closing his eyes he tried to ignore the growing darkness. After a few minutes he opened his eyes hesitantly. It was so dark…he hold onto his plush cat and closed his eyes again. 

He could do this. 

There was nothing in the darkness. 

Nervously he shivered when he heard rustling. That was only his human. 

Don’t worry, he told himself. 

But his uneasiness didn’t vanish, it grew with each passing second. He tried to control his shivers but they didn’t stop. Memories were passing before his eyes, bad ones, frightening ones. It was difficult to breath, looking for help he hugged his plush cat even tighter. 

Shiro help me. 

A cool voice interrupted his vicious circle.

“Makoto, are you okay?” asked Haru worriedly. He could hear the dogboy’s moving and heavy breathing.

Feeling caught Makoto curled himself up into a ball.

“Y-y-y…yes” he finally replied. He had to be strong for his human because he didn’t want to bother him. If he would see him like this, he would return him right away.

Switching on the lights, Haru eyed the bundle of blankets. 

“You are not okay.” He jumped out of his bed and walked over to the dogboy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned. 

Hearing the other’s voice right next to him Makoto froze. He curled up even closer and tried to make himself as small as he could. He was so afraid.

“Tell me.” This…this wasn’t his human’s usual voice, it was deeper and stronger, it was…a command…

So the dogboy licked his dry lips and replied in a soft and nervous voice,  
“I-I-I…d-d-d-don’t like the…d-d-darkness…” Fearing the other’s response he closed his eyes tightly.

“Oh…” was the only thing Haru said. He returned to his bed and grabbed something on his nightstand, then he returned to the side of the futon and fumbled with something. 

“Now it should be better” he announced finally and went back to his bed. “I’ll switch off the light again.”

Waiting for the darkness to arrive Makoto opened cautiously his eyes but…somehow he could still see the shadow of his blanket…curiously he poked his head out of the blanket. 

It…wasn’t dark…

Searching for the source of light he noticed the little table lamp standing beside his futon. 

Surprised he sat up. He switched his gaze from the lamp to his human, processing the things that happened. Smiling brightly and waggling with his tail he kneeled on all fours and studied the lamp gratefully.

“T-t-thank you Haru” he exclaimed relieved and happy.

“Next time, tell me directly, okay?” mumbled the other embarrassed from his bed. 

Seeing the dogboy so happy and grateful he became warm inside and his heart fluttered. Flustered he turned to his side and added “now sleep Makoto. Good night.”

Cheerfully the dogboy chirped a “good night Haru” and crawled back under his blanket. 

With a smile on his face Haru fell asleep.

 

 

 

Sousuke looked around. It had been a while since the last time he smelled fresh air. There were a lot of cars, noises, humans, everything seemed so lively. 

“Hop in!”, invited the red head his new companion. He was driving a red sport car with bright flames on its side. When Sousuke first saw it, he couldn’t quite believe his eyes but on the other side… he eyed his new owner. It was so like him, he kinda got the idea what he liked after the first time they met. Entering the car, he fastened himself and leaned back. While the redhead was driving, absentminded he looked out of the window, studying the streets and people. He touched cautiously he new collar. So it was still there. His thoughts were interrupted when Rin asked,

“Is that everything you got?”

Looking at the things in his arms, a spare set of clothes, his toothbrush and a white towel, he nodded. 

He never thought about owning something. He had everything he needed for his daily life.  
And he never got a gift from anybody, it was more like his previous owners took something away from him, like his innocence, his optimism, or his shoulder. When he thought hard enough the only one who gave him something was Makoto, even if it was only food or an awkward hug. He hoped that Makoto was all right and that the black-haired human treated him nicely.

“Tch! That’s really not much,” replied Rin grumpily.

“It’s enough”, said the black dog while watching the other passing cars.

“Hey…”

Looking over to his new owner, he waited for the other to continue.

Rin was gripping the steering wheel tighter.

“Are you okay…coming with me? I mean I know I can be pushy but I didn’t…”

“It’s okay, I wouldn’t come with you in the first place if I were against it.”

“Ah..haha I see.” Relieved Rin sighed and grinned at the other.

“You will be flabbergasted when you see where I’m living!”

“Is you house red?” asked the black dog and smirked.

“Wait what? … NO!” shouted the redhead indignantly. “Tch… you will see…”

When the car stopped both hopped out. Rin was standing before his house with crossed arms.

Sousuke gaped.

What the hell?

House was definitely the wrong term, it was more like a little palace. It was western styled and completely colored in white. The entry was guarded by two marble lions, both growling at the visitors. At their side were several pillars which surrounded the front.  
The front yard housed several cherry blossoms whereby each one was blooming beautifully. When Sousuke felt a strong breeze, cherry blossoms were flying everywhere. Flabbergasted he looked at his new owner, who strangely matched into the scenery.

Pleased with the other’s reaction Rin poked at his nose.

“Come on, let’s go inside big guy!”

 

“And this is your room!” exclaimed Rin cheerfully. Sousuke peeked curiously inside. It was simple furnished: a big bed, a little table with seat cushions and a shelf.

Nervously Rin rubbed his neck, “I didn’t know what you needed so I prepared this room. Tell me if there’s anything I should get additionally.”

“It’s fine, more than I used to have” mumbled the black dog and went inside. He placed his stuff on the little table and looked around. His room. A little smile was forming on his lips. 

“Ah I almost forgot! The bathroom is next door” added the redhead hurriedly. “Eh…well…I give you some time alone, come downstairs when you’re ready, I’ll prepare food.” Rin closed softly the door and went downstairs. Stopping on one step, he asked himself what do crossbreeds eat again? Thinking hard, he came to the conclusion that meat was always right and walked into his kitchen.

Sousuke sat on the bed and bounced a few times. Nice.   
Looking at the closed window, he thought about his day. A few hours ago he was sitting beside Makoto in this awful pet room, passing each day like the previous one. Eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, waiting for nothing…  
He never reckoned that somebody would take him again. He was grumpy, and quiet and sometimes aggressive.  
Seriously he wouldn’t have been surprised if someday one of the animal shelter guys had come and told him that they would euthanize him because of his behavior towards humans…but…with sad eyes he looked at his hands and arms. Remembering unpleasant memories, he sighed. What else could he do? He was hurting deep inside…the natural trust for humans inside him shattered to pieces…

He wished he could be different but he couldn’t…

He knew that he shouldn’t fall too deep, his new owner will return him too, the only thing that changed was the time…maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week…it was only a matter of time…

At least he could enjoy the new luxury, his own room, his own bed, hopefully tasty food.  
Standing up he ran his fingers through his hair and scratched himself behind his ears. 

Time to go downstairs.

 

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs Sousuke sniffed at the air. Something smelled really good. Following his nose, he found the kitchen and a cooking Rin inside. Hearing footsteps, the redhead looked over his shoulder and grinned.

“Hey, food will be ready in a few moments, sit down.”

What did the human cook? The dogboy sniffed a few times again…steak…his eyes became big and his tail waggled…god he loved steak….and…something like potatoes? But it smelled different…

He frowned and crossed his arms. What was it? 

Meanwhile Rin placed the steaks and fries on two plates. Grabbing two forks and knives he joined Sousuke at the table. He laid the silverware and dishes on the table and inspected the other nervously.

“I hope you like steaks and fries.”

So these are fries?

The dogboy eyed the fries curiously. He took one of them and sniffed at it, then he ate it cautiously. Shit this was delicious!

In an instant he packed hands full of fries in his mouth, chewing hurriedly. The steak was next. He took a big bite, enjoying the tender roasted meat.

“Eh…” speechless Rin watched the other’s eating habits. After a few moments he regained some of his composure and said slowly,

“You don’t have to bolt…There’s enough…”

Surprised Sousuke looked at the redhead with full mouth and big eyes. More?

Rin chuckled. “You look hilarious man!”

Embarrassed the dogboy chewed slowly and swallowed the bits. 

“Don’t you use forks?” asked the human curiously.

“Too much of a hassle” answered the other and turned his head to his side. 

“Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you. Eat as much as you like, okay”, he appeased him.

Then Rin took his fork and knife in his hands and began eating. 

After a few minutes Sousuke peeked briefly at the human. Man his teeth really looked dangerous he thought. Seeing bite after bite disappearing in the other’s mouth, his own started watering again. Reluctantly he turned his head and eyed his plate and then the other. Picking up more fries and another steak he began eating again but this time more slowly.

 

When both finished their meal Sousuke licked his fingers contently. This was the most delicious food he ever had. Peeking as his human he stopped his actions midair. Rin was blushing deeply and looked at him with big eyes.

“What?” growled the black dogboy confused.

“Eh…ah…no nothing”, stuttered the other flustered and turned his gaze the other way.

Sousuke frowned. Did he do something wrong? 

Intensely he eyed the redhead, waiting for him to explain the problem. 

Noticing the nagging gaze, he faced the dogboy again.

“W-w-what?”

“Did I do something?” wrong? 

“N-no as I said, nothing wrong” replied Rin nervously.

“Then why do you blush and stare at me?” asked Sousuke seriously.

“Eh…” How could he say that seeing him licking his fingers was kinda sexy?!

“Eh…you know…” the human rubbed his head, “shit…I thought you looked cute…” Blushing once again he turned his face embarrassed away.

Sousuke gaped. What. Did. He. Say? 

Big teal eyes looked at the redhead.

Never, ever had somebody said something like this to him…  
Cute was reserved for the other catboys or fluffy girly stuff, but he, super manly, muscular, bad tempered Sousuke…cute?  
Processing the said words Sousuke blushed too.

God dammit what is going on?

He had never blushed before, NEVER. And now…  
Cautiously he peeked at his human again, hoping that the other missed his blushing face. But today, Sousuke wasn’t lucky enough, Rin looked at him with big eyes. 

Shit. 

He hid his face behind his hand and mumbled, “dork”.

Hearing the insult Rin snapped out of his trance state. “H-h-hey! Be grateful dog! I even cooked you food!” he exclaimed scandalized.

Sousuke smirked. He liked teasing his human… Rin.


	3. First Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both dogboys cook breakfast for their humans :)

He saw the reflection of metal and felt something cold hitting his back. Touching the wall behind him, he shuddered. 

There was no escape. 

Shivering he closed his eyes in defeat and fear. Feeling the sharp pain on his cheek he cried in vain. It didn’t stop. His arms, his legs and his belly hurt, he begged miserably but nobody listened to him. He heard the dripping of his own blood. Finally when it was over, he curled himself up, sobbing bitterly, why? Why? WHY?

 

“Makoto!” The brunette dogboy blinked a few times, trying to focus his view. Blue eyes. Black hair. 

“Haru?” He looked confusedly around the room. “What’s wrong?”

“You screamed, while sleeping”, explained the human worriedly.

Makoto tilted his head still trying to understand what happened. He was asleep and then there was this dream and…oh…

With big green eyes he looked at the other embarrassed. “I’m s-s-sorry, I had a b-b-ad dream…”

“Hm…I figured. Are you okay now? You’re still shivering…”

Inspecting himself he returned his gaze to his human and smiled. “Yeah, thank you Haru. Again I’m s-s-sorry for s-s-screaming and w-waking you up.”

Haru shook his head. “Don’t be, it really scared me.”

“Oh…sorry…” the dogboy let his head hang. Again he did something bad.

Haru hesitated. He wanted to touch the poor dogboy, who looked so miserable that his heart broke, but he knew that the other was very shy and sensitive to touch especially in this situation so he clenched his fist and restrained himself.   
Instead he tried to smile at him. It was awkward but it had some effect on Makoto, he took deep constant breaths and smiled back. 

It was a small fragile smile, but this time it was real.

“Let’s get up, I’ll make us breakfast soon” proposed Haru and went over to his closet, peeking secretly at the dogboy.

“O-o-okay” he answered, grabbing his white plush cat and looked for his other clothes. 

While rummaging the human said thoughtfully, “we have to go shopping soon, to buy new clothes for you.”

“O-o-oh you don’t have to d-d-do that I mean, I h-have enough c-clothes”, answered the dogboy flustered.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll take a quick bath, you can go downstairs and watch TV or enjoy the garden if you want. Then I'll make breakfast.” Haru was carrying a bunch of clothes and a pair of jammers in his hands and walked straight to the bathroom.

Makoto looked confused after him. He changed and folded neatly the clothes and futon. Content with the result he shyly opened the door and stepped into the hallway. He could hear splashing water and chirping birds. So he was really taking a bath.

Anxiously the dogboy walked the hallway up and down. What should he do? Garden? He tilted his head and his ears twitched. Garden.

He bounced from step to step and walked through the living room. Slowly opening the slide door he sniffed at the fresh morning air and breathed deep. He sighed happily. 

Sitting down at the wooden floor with wagging tail, he merrily enjoyed the view and hummed an old song he heard a long time ago. He thought it sounded nice so he tried to remember every tone of it.

Cuddling with Shiro, he whispered in his ear, “we are really lucky, our new human is so nice. We have to repay him somehow…” Looking around Makoto cerebrated.

Then something in his mind clicked. 

Right, they would eat breakfast in a bit so… how about he prepared it, then his human would be super happy and proud!

Excited by his idea the dogboy jumped up and dashed straight to the kitchen. Slowly, step by step, he entered the kitchen while watching closely his surroundings. It was only Haru and him, and there wouldn’t be anybody who could hurt him. The kitchen was only a room, like the living room for example, rooms didn’t cause pain, people did it.   
Closing his eyes, he strengthened his resolve and opened them again. He wasn’t afraid.

Cautiously he opened the fridge. There were vegetables, and fish, and other stuff he didn’t know.

He tilted his head. So what should he cook? Eyeing the fish he took it in his hands and sniffed at it. 

Ah, right this was mackerel. 

Wagging his tail from side so side he studied the rest of the food. He couldn’t use a knife, and it was scary. Knives hurt. Especially peeling or cutting vegetables was too difficult for him but the fish could be fried as a whole and that wasn’t so difficult, was it? When his human did it, it looked so easy.  
So Makoto took the mackerel in his hands and closed the fridge. Then he searched for the pan. He opened every closet and kitchen cupboard and finally, after rummaging through every possible place, he found it right beside the stove. 

You’re so dumb he thought and placed the pan on the stove. 

But…how did you turn it on? He inspected the little buttons. Cautiously he pressed one but nothing happened. Strange.   
There were little pictures on it but why? He switched his gaze from the pictures to the stove and back. 

Ah!    
So the pictures told you which place would heat up. That’s so clever! 

He scratched thoughtfully one of his ears. Hm…he pressed again one button but nothing happened…maybe…he touched it and turned it to one side. So this is how you started it!

Comparing the pictures with the different places, he turned the desired button for the pan.  
Proudly he inspected his result and waggled merrily. He cautiously took the fish in his hands and dropped it into the pan.

Hah! That was easy!

Staring closely at the mackerel he waited for any sign of frying. After a few minutes he smelled the emitting steam.   
Seemed ready but this was only one side so how could he turn it to the other side? 

He looked around, searching for this special spoon his human used. Therefore once again he opened the different kitchen cupboards but didn’t find it. 

Uneasiness filled Makoto, the smell slowly changed and this wasn’t good. Nervously he eyed the pan and the surrounding pots. Nothing. 

Maybe…he could use his hand? Cautiously touching the fish he yelped. Hot. But he had to turn it around! Biting his lip and with pressed back ears he hastily touched the fish again, trying to flip it and shrieked painfully. 

This was nothing, he endured worse pain…he did it for his human…Haru…

Finally flipping the fraying fish on the other side he grinned. He did it, but sharp pain interrupted his victory. Inspecting his fingertips, he licked delicately over the burns.

Haru would be so proud of him, maybe he would even pat his head. Closing his eyes to imagine the scene, his nose twitched. Oh no…

It smelled burned. Immediately opening his eyes again he inspected the pan. The mackerel was ready. Taking the pan he put it on the other side of the stove. Turning of the heat he looked around. Plate. He remembered that in the cupboard on the left side over the sink were plates so he carefully took one and placed it beside the pan. Biting his lip again he grabbed the fried hot fish with his hands and dropped it on the plate. With sparkling eyes he looked at his first cooked meal.   
Hearing footsteps on the stairs he hastily took the plate in his hands and waited cheerfully for his human. With wagging tail, bright eyes and burned hands he smiled happily.

 

Haru left the bath with a towel around his shoulders. He already changed in the bathroom and stepped into the hallway while rubbing his hair. Suddenly he was startled when he smelled something very familiar. But who? Maybe Rin? But Rin would make himself known with his shouting and yelling. Haru frowned. Makoto? But can he cook? Well he didn’t ask him about it so maybe…

Concerned he went at a good pace downstairs. When he turned around the corner he gaped.

There, smiling brightly and wagging happily stood his brunette dogboy, looking at him with shining green eyes and a big plate in his hands.

Of course Haru knew what the fish on the plate was, it was the only one he bought, mackerel. 

Shyly Makoto took a few steps forward. “I-I-I made you b-breakfast Haru!” he barked merrily.

His human looked at the plate and returned his gaze to Makoto.

He looked so cute and adorable that his heart was filled with warmth he wasn’t used to. 

Makoto’s wagging stopped for a brief moment and his smile faltered for a second. Then he carefully walked over to the table and placed the plate on it. 

“Y-y-you can sit down, I’ll b-bring you chopsticks”, said the dogboy merrily and rushed into the kitchen, hiding his hands behind his back.

Haru walked over to his usual place and sat down. Curiously he eyed the fish. It looked and smelled good, so Makoto could cook?

After a few moments the dogboy returned and handed his human the chopsticks over. At this instant the other saw his bright red fingers and frowned. 

“Did you burn yourself?” asked Haru concerned. 

Hiding his fingers and chuckling awkwardly the dogboy answered still cheerfully “only a little bit.”

The human inspected him suspiciously. “Let me see.”

Nervously Makoto wiggled on his seat. “N-n-no it’s o-o-okay.”

“Makoto”. With a serious deep voice and blue worried eyes Haru didn’t accept any denial.

Defeated, the dogboy slowly crawled over to him and showed his hands. “I-I-it’s really not bad” he stuttered.

“Makoto…” Haru didn’t know what do say. The dogboy’s fingertips were painfully burned, the skin red and thin, on some parts already burst. There were also several blisters filled with clear fluid. How could he do that? 

In a soft voice, the human asked “how did this happen?”

“Eh…” his tail waggled nervously from side to side, “I d-d-didn’t find your special spoon to f-f-flip it on the other side s-s-so…I used m-my hands.” Waiting a few moments the dogboy added “are you angry?”

What could he say? Makoto tried to make him breakfast, obviously not used to the kitchen and he cooked his favorite food he didn’t know until yesterday. He even burnt his hands for him without hesitation or complaining, and few moments ago he was standing before him, smiling at him like the happiest person in the world while holding the plate of mackerel.

“No” mumbled Haru. His blue eyes were filled with emotions he couldn’t say. I’m grateful thank you I’m glad you’re here stay with me

When blue eyes met green ones, Haru hoped that Makoto would understand him and as if the dogboy could read his mind, he smiled tenderly and wagged. 

“Of course Haru.”

Haru smiled. He had to thank Rin later, for dragging him along, so that he could meet Makoto.

“Now let’s treat your hands” said Haru sternly and stood up.

“B-b-but…” interrupted the dogboy and crawled closer, “t-the mackerel will get c-c-cold!”

The human lifted one of his brows. Why would he care about the fish now?

“P-p-please eat the f-f-fish now”, begged the other.

Haru sighed and went into the kitchen. Returning with another plate, another set of chopsticks and a Tupperware box he placed it on the table. He dropped the fish into the box and put the plate and chopsticks on Makoto’s place.

“First we treat your wounds. The mackerel will stay warm” said Haru and walked out of the living room.

Makoto watched his actions with surprise. 

When his human returned he carried a first aid kit with him. He looked over the content and took some ointment and band aids out. 

“Give me your hands” requested Haru softly. Obedient as always, Makoto showed him his hands again while looking curiously at the other. 

His human applied delicately the ointment, reading the other’s face for any sign of pain or uneasiness. The dogboy sighed relieved, the cool liquid eased the pain immensely.   
When Haru finished, he grabbed the band aids and presented them the other.

“Which one would you like?” asked his human.

Makoto studied the patterns: One was blue and had little dolphins on it, the other had a green color and little kittens were playing with each other on it.

Shyly the dogboy pointed at the kitten pattern.

Haru nodded and opened the package.

When each finger was wrapped in little cute kitten band aids, Makoto studied them happily. They were so cute and now he could look at them as long as he wanted. Wagging his tail and smiling brightly he thanked his human.

“Now let’s eat, okay?” Haru brought the first aid kit back into the bathroom and sat down at table.  
Dividing the mackerel in the box into two pieces, he added flatly, “we share” and placed one piece on each of the plates.

Makoto watched him with big eyes. The fish was for his human alone but he shared it with him. His heart fluttered. He was so lucky to be owned by Haru. He was always so nice to him. Hopefully the mackerel would taste good.

“Itadakimasu.” Curiously he eyed his human, waiting for his reaction. 

It had still some raw parts in the middle, and some were burnt but Haru didn’t mention any of this. It was delicious. He smiled at the other and replied,

“It’s good. Try it.”

Makoto’s eyes were shining and he grinned happily.

“Itadakimasu!”

But then his hands stopped. With big eyes he looked at his chopsticks and his hands. He couldn’t hold them, especially not with the band aids on it. Dropping his ears he looked helplessly at his human.  
Noticing the other’s gaze Haru eyed him confused. 

Right, he couldn’t eat like that. Haru sighed internally, sometimes he could be really slow…

“Makoto, come to my side” he said gently.

Puzzled, the dogboy did as he was told.

Taking a bit of mackerel between his chopsticks, Haru expectantly moved them towards Makoto’s mouth. 

“I’ll feed you.”

The dogboy gaped. His human…feeding…him? He was never fed, sometimes one of his previous owners demanded that he would feed him but never the other way around. 

Makoto blushed and embarrassed he opened his mouth while closing his eyes tightly. Haru placed cautiously the fish on the top of the other’s tongue and retreated. Slowly chewing the bite, Makoto opened his eyes again.

Blue eyes studied him with silent questions.

He swallowed and answered shyly, “it’s tasty.”

Then Haru smiled at him, already preparing the next bite.

 

 

 

 

Sousuke scratched his ears and yawned. The sun was shining through his window but he couldn’t care less. He was still sleepy so he turned around and hid under his blanket. He heard a soft knock on the door and growled. 

“Sousuke? Are you awake? Can I come in?” 

The door creaked open and a red mop of hair peeked inside. Eyeing the bundle of blankets on the bed, Rin walked slowly inside. 

Again, he asked softly, “Sousuke?”

He was answered by a growl.

Rin snickered. So he was a morning grouch.

“Listen, I’ll take a quick run. You can take a shower if you want, let’s eat together later, ‘kay?”

After waiting a few moments, he turned around and left.

For a while Sousuke remained in his bed, enjoying the warmth and softness of his pillows and blankets. When he finally made the decision to stand up, he yawned heartily while scratching himself behind his ears. Walking slowly to the closet with his clothes, he looked out of the window. 

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly, the birds chirped happily and a light breeze blew through the leaves. 

Sousuke sighed, took his clothes and went into the bathroom next door. After showering and changing, he inspected the hallway.

Now what? He was too lazy to explore the house once again so he went downstairs towards the kitchen. He could feel his stomach rumbling, screaming for food. 

He opened curiously the fridge. Water bottles, energy bars, vegetables, some chicken, and other stuff he didn’t know. 

The dogboy frowned. 

Only healthy stuff. 

The human said he would do a quick run and then return, but he didn’t show up until now and he was hungry. Waiting for the other’s return and the following cooking would take too much time.

Grumpily he took some vegetables, the chicken and eggs out of the fridge. He searched through the cupboards and shelf for other ingredients. Content with his find he grabbed the pan beside the shove and took a spatula.

At least he knew how to cook fried rice. It was an easy dish and one of his previous owners demanded fried rice every goddamn day from him otherwise he couldn’t move without pain the next day.

On the other side, he had to repay the redhead for the previous meal. He hated being indebted so he killed two birds with one stone.  
While he put on the rice, he fried the chicken and vegetables. He would add the eggs later, so they wouldn’t get too cooked. Swinging the content of the pan skillfully he added seasonings and other secret ingredients for his own style.

 

Rin breathed heavily. He was running his usual route and added some extra kilometers to train his stamina. He took a big gulp of his water bottle and looked at his front yard. He really liked the cherry blossoms. They reminded him of his previous swim club and fond memories with his friends. After becoming pro and moving to Australia, it was really hard for him to keep in touch with his family and friends. But now he was glad that he returned to his homeland with Olympic medals in his pocket. 

Maybe he should invite Gou over when Sousuke had settled in. He still couldn’t quite judge the black dogboy but yesterday was a lot of fun, hopefully it stayed this way.   
Walking through the cherry trees, he opened exhausted the front door. When he stepped over the threshold a delicious scent hit his nose instantly. 

What the fuck? Who was cooking in his house? 

Haru wouldn’t do that and nobody else came uninvited unless…

He peeked around the corner and observed the kitchen. When he saw the scene before his eyes he gaped.

The black dogboy was setting the table, in one hand a pan and in the other a big spoon. He placed cautiously a big share of fried rice on the two plates and put the pan back on the stove.

Getting hungry, Rin moved slowly and with loud steps towards the kitchen.

“Hey” he greeted Sousuke and smelled at the meal. “That looks delicious.”

“Mhm, didn’t want to wait for your cooking” answered the other flatly.

Both sat down at table and began eating in silence.

After the first bite Rin exclaimed excitedly “that’s delicious!”

Smirking Sousuke continued eating. Of course it was delicious, he cooked it.

“Hey Sousuke, wanna run with me tomorrow?” asked Rin with a mouth full of rice.

The dogboy frowned. Too early.

Seeing his reaction Rin chuckled uneasy. “Hey you don’t have to, if you don’t want, thought it was a good idea being fit and all…”

Teal eyes studied the redhead.

“I am fit” he replied.

“Oh, really? If you say so dude.” Rin shrugged.

Did he doubt him?

Sousuke lifted one of his eyebrows. “Are you challenging me?”

“Maybe” responded the redhead smugly.

This guy…

The dogboy crossed his arms. “Fine, I’ll come with you.”

Rin grinned broadly. “Let’s see who has the higher stamina.”

 

The next morning, Rin knocked at Sousuke’s door like yesterday but this time he was greeted with a mumbled “come in.”  
The dogboy was dressing himself in his usual clothes. Frowning, the redhead eyed him.

“Man we really have to buy new clothes, you need sports wear and at least pajamas.”

“I sleep in underwear, that’s enough” replied the black dogboy uninterested.

“Tch. Won’t do big guy. Let’s go.”

 

After hours of running and a couple of quick races, both were laying in the soft grass of the park a few blocks away. Breathing heavily, Sousuke peeked at the human. 

Shit this guy could really run. He was sure that he was trained but the redhead had no problem adjusting his speed to him. Damn he even waited a few times when he had to take it slowly.

Rin smiled at him. “That was awesome!”

Sousuke studied his face, his sharp teeth, his red lips and his friendly eyes. Grinning, he answered “yeah, next time I beat you.”

Next time? Rin smiled even broader. 

“Let’s see Sousuke.” He held his fist up, waiting for the other to bump it. 

The dogboy eyed the fist irritated and frowned. What did he want? Didn’t look like beating…but it was strange.

“You don’t know a fist bump?” asked Rin in bewilderment.

Sousuke’s frown deepened. What was a fist bump?

As answering his thought, the human explained, “you do it when you finished something successfully, like a challenge or race. Friends do this.”

Friends? The human wanted to be his friend? Or was he already his friend? He never really had any friends, except a few other crossbreeds and of course Makoto. He peeked at the other and saw red eyes full of expectation. 

Maybe he could try being friends with a human even if he didn’t know how it went but it couldn’t be that different, could it? 

He lifted his fist hesitantly towards the other.

Rin bumped it softly and chuckled.

“That’s right! Let’s go shopping later I bet you look good in black jeans.”

Sousuke turned his head to hide his smile. 

His human was so different form every other he became acquainted with, it was frightening and exciting at the same time.

Maybe this time…would be different.

Sousuke sat up, looking at the other with a warm expression, he said softly, “okay Rin.”

The redhead gaped. It was the first time the black dogboy used his name and it was…nice…

He rubbed his nose and grinned broadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I hope you like the chapter :)  
> Makoto is such an angel and cutie (*_*) and Sousuke is so Sousuke xD  
> I love both already so much <3  
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos! Man that really motivated me ^.^ I tried to correct my mistakes so hopefully it's better now.  
> The rough plot for the next chapter is already written so I hope I can update faster than last time.  
> Again thank you all for you support, I'm so happy <3


	4. First Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto and Sousuke are shopping with their new humans for the first time.

“Makoto, I’ll put your collar on, okay?”

Shivering a few times, the dogboy closed his eyes. He trusted his human. His human, no… Haru was nice, and cared about him.   
Clutching his plush cat tightly, he could feel the cold soft leather around his neck. He didn’t like collars because humans could pull it, or tighten it. It felt like they got more power over him, making him feel like…an animal…officially he was one but if somebody treated him nicely and with respect, like Haru, he believed for a brief moment that he was human too. 

“Done” announced Haru and inspected his doing. 

It really matched perfectly.

Cautiously Makoto blinked a few times and saw gentle blue eyes looking at him. He smiled shyly and looked into the mirror Haru was holding.

He carefully touched the collar. Switching his gaze between the jewels and his own eyes he could understand why his human had chosen this one. The gems had the same color as his eyes, a bright emerald green. It was the first time he saw himself wearing it and he was proud that his owner gave him such an expensive one. And he looked…pretty…

He would cherish it because it was the first present from Haru.

Makoto’s cheeks, colored in a beautiful rose tone, the shining emerald eyes and the sparkling gems which intensified the brightness were an endearing sign. To top it of, the brunette dogboy smiled at him so angelic that Haru questioned himself how anybody could hurt this innocent creature. He admired the sign, drinking every drop of it with his eyes.

Makoto shyly turned his gaze away. Haru’s eyes were so intense, filled with emotions he couldn’t quite decipher. Later on, he would know what these eyes told him.

Awakening of his dreamy state, Haru turned around and walked to the front door. Looking over his shoulder, he said, “Okay, let’s go.”

 

The city was big, and crowded. Makoto stumbled after Haru, afraid of loosing him in the mass of humans.  
Avoiding other persons and apologizing he stuttered nervously, “H-H-Haru w-w-wait please, I d-d-don’t want to loose you!”

Haru stopped and inspected him. “Give me your hand.”

“Huh?” Confused the dogboy held one hand towards his human. The other took it and began walking again.

Makoto blushed deeply. Haru…was…holding …his hand…  
He ducked his head to hide his broad smile. Wagging happily he enjoyed the warmth of Haru’s hand and the soft but firm grip. 

Facing front, Haru tried to ignore the rising heat in his cheeks or his fast beating heart.

 

Entering a big shopping mall, Makoto gaped. It was so bright, and there were so many stores and… so many colors and scents.  
He was overwhelmed by the different scents of humans and unknown things. Lifting his nose he followed Haru, trying to take in all details of his surroundings.

Then Haru found what he was looking for. It was a popular clothing store he frequently visited. He liked the design and fabrics. Additionally it was relatively quiet this time of the day so he could fully concentrate on Makoto.

The usual salesman greeted him and eyed the dogboy curiously.

“I’m looking for clothes for him.”

“Oh, follow me please Mr. Nanase!” 

Makoto watched the scene curiously but was too shy to ask his human.

The man showed them shelves and clothes hanger full of shirts, t-shirts, log sleeved shirts and pants in every possible color.

With skillful eyes, Haru searched quickly through the clothes, from time to time taking one off and dropping it into Makoto’s arms.

After several minutes Makoto’s arms were full of shirts, sweat pants, jeans and other stuff.

Pointing at a fitting room, Haru said, “Go in there and try on the clothes.”

Failing words, the dogboy stumbled to the fitting room, dropping the clothes on one of the seats.

 

Several hours later, Haru and Makoto left the store with hands full of bags. Basically Haru chose every outfit and part of Makoto’s wardrobe but sometimes the dogboy found the courage to announce his opinion, so most of the shirts were green or blue, whereas one red cotton flannel shirt caught Haru’s attention. 

While both walked through the mall, Makoto couldn’t ignore the stares and whispers of other humans.

“Look honey! There’s a crossbreed!”

“Yeah it’s pretty expensive.”

“They are so strange.”

“The look like humans, but are only animals, don’t forget.”

“Monstrosities!”

“And look at his tail and ears!”

Makoto couldn’t cover his ears because of the bags he was carrying so he had to listen to every hateful comment. Some said he looked cute or pretty, others said he was a monstrosity who should never exist.  
The words hurt him. Deeply. He knew that humans didn’t think highly of them and some hurt him in the past but these words hurt on a different level.   
His eyes were watering while he desperately tried to suppress the upcoming tears. He couldn’t humiliate his human like this. 

Makoto wasn’t the only one who heard these comments. Haru was chewing on the inside of his cheek. Sometimes he hated his own kind so much. Makoto was so wonderful and gentle and sensitive and these stupid idiots insulted him without a reason. He had to stop himself otherwise he would throw his bags in the faces of these people and punch every one of them.

The straw to break the camel’s back was a group of teenagers. 3 guys, dressed in oversized baggy pants and shirts with basketball caps pointed at Makoto and laughed. One of them had a shake in his hand and slurped. Whispering to each other, the one with the shake threw the drink at the dogboy. Haru eyeing the group had a presentment. When the shake flew he kicked the plastic back to his owner and glared at them.

“If you try this again I will beat you up!” Haru shouted and killed the teenage boys with his eyes. Grumbling and cursing the three walked away.

Makoto didn’t notice what was going on, he only saw the soft drink flying in his direction, slow motion style, and in the next moment Haru stood before him and kicked the plastic container away. With big eyes he looked at his human while the other shouted madly.   
Until now, he had never heard Haru’s shouting but it was really terrifying. But he went out of his way for him, he shouted for him, defended him.   
Makoto’s heart fluttered. Haru was so brave! And strong! And beautiful! And fearless!

When the teenage boys left Haru’s view, he turned to the dogboy, hoping that he wasn’t hurt or frightened. Instead he was greeted with a broad smile which enlightened the other’s whole face. 

Shyly he peeked at his savior and whispered, “Thank you Haru.”

With his blue eyes, he told the dogboy it was nothing and grabbed the bags.

Makoto hurried after him while Haru tried to leave this terrible place as fast as he could.

 

Desperately following Haru’s pace Makoto observed the shop windows curiously. Suddenly he stopped. Walking slowly to one of it, he dropped the bags in his hands. With big eyes he stared at the display.  
Noticing the absence of his dogboy, Haru looked around. Fortunately Makoto was a big guy so it was easy for the other to spot him. When the human was near enough, he could see the pile of nemu nekos in the shop window.  
Smelling his human, Makoto turned around and looked at him with sparkling eyes and wagging tail.

“T-T-They are so cute!” he squeaked and studied the cat pillows again.

Haru suppressed a chuckle. Really Makoto liked cats a lot, well and cute things in general. 

“You know, I almost lost you”, lectured the human friendly. 

Turning around, the dogboy stammered “I-I-I’m sorry Haru I didn’t mean it!”

Dropping his bags, Haru ruffled the other’s hair affectionately. His hair was so soft and fluffy, thought Haru.

“I know, but be careful next time, okay?”

Makoto nodded. “Y-yes! Sorry Haru!”

“Let’s go inside.” The human took his bags and looked expectantly at the other.

“Huh?” The dogboy tilted his head in confusion but nevertheless grabbed the bags and followed his human.

Inside Makoto was flabbergasted. He didn’t know where to look first, so many cute cat faces in every possible size. And the colors! From brown, black and white to green, blue or multi colored. Some had also accessories like little hats or moustaches. Wagging wildly, Haru dragged him to one of the shelves. 

“Which one would you like?” asked the human softly.

Makoto looked at him, not immediately understanding their meaning.

He could…

“Oh my god!” shrieked the dogboy, dropped the bags and dashed around the store. Looking excitedly at every smiling cat face, he delicately touched its fur. So soft!

He barked a few times and looked at his human.

Haru was observing the scene and chuckled. He was so cute being excited like that because of plush cats. In these moments he really reminded him of an oversized dog. 

“H-H-Haru which one should I pick they are all so c-c-cute and f-f-fluffy and they…”

Haru interrupted his chattering. “You can take anyone you like.”

With big eyes he stared at him. “R-R-Really?”

The human nodded and smiled at him.

“C-C-Choose one too so it’s not so a-a-alone!” replied the dogboy innocently.

Confused blue eyes looked at him. 

“Eh…I m-mean if I-I take one of them home, i-i-it gets lonely all by i-itself”, he explained while fumbling with his fingers.

God is he cute, thought Haru and ruffled his hair.

“Okay.”

Smiling brightly, Makoto dashed away.

 

At the end, Haru choose a bright blue one because the color reminded him of the ocean and Makoto took a big black one, it reminded him of Haru’s and Sousuke’s hair color and it matched well with Shiro.

Full packed with bags both walked slowly back to the train station. Makoto was smiling happily the whole way while Haru enjoyed the sign of his smile.

 

 

 

 

 

It was the first time that Sousuke visited a mall. He sometimes heard others talk about a place like this but being there himself was another experience. So many humans and scents gave him a headache. Loud high school girls were chattering and bickering around every corner and shouting children were carried by their exhausted parents. There were too many people for his taste. 

The dogboy frowned.

“Everything okay?” asked Rin concerned while looking over his shoulder.

Sousuke hummed as response.

“Don’t get lost.”

“I’m not a little kid” grumbled the other.

“Yeah but I don’t want that somebody steals you.”

As if, thought Sousuke but didn’t answer. Following his human, he heard whispers and felt cold gazes. When he peeked over his shoulder he saw a young couple pointing at him. 

Frowning he faced front and walked forward. 

A group of teenage girls sitting by an ice cream store giggled loudly. When they saw the two men walking passed them, they began pointing at the taller one. Trying to ignore the annoying humans Sousuke faced the other way while walking beside Rin.

“Eww look it’s a crossbreed. I first thought he was handsome but now…”

“Yeah I know what you mean, such a shame.”

Sousuke gritted his teeth.

“But the other guy is cute too! His red hair is so wild!”

“But isn’t he the owner of the crossbreed?”

“You think so?”

“Youre right. Creepy!”

“Creepy!” cheered the whole group.

“Such a weirdo, bet he’s into kinky stuff, like banging animals.”

And this was the final straw.

Sousuke turned towards the teenage girls and growled. 

“Don’t talk shit behind our backs you ugly hags!” barked the dogboy enraged. He was baring his teeth and the fur on his tail was erected.

Filled with astonishment and fear the girls shrieked and looked at him with big eyes. Not able to hold his gaze, they looked under themselves.

Oblivious to the other’s conversation Rin eyed Sousuke in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.

“They were shit talking about us” replied the other angrily.

Studying the group of girls briefly, he ignored them entirely and laid one hand on one of Sousuke’s shoulders.

“Come on big guy, we are here for shopping.”

The dogboy snarled angrily but followed him obediently. He peeked at the other humans, whispering, pointing at him and…his human.

“Seems like he didn’t train him well enough.”

“What if he had hurt somebody?!”

“Crossbreeds are so dangerous!”

“Mimi-chan stay back, the dog is dangerous!”

Sousuke’s anger flew away in an instant, replaced by regret and shame. He did it again, loosing control, letting his angry side take over.

He hated himself for it, for being so angry and easily provoked but they were talking shit, shit about Rin. If they would insult only him, it was okay, he didn’t like it but he accepted it, it was routine and he knew that a lot of people thought lowly of crossbreeds but Rin…

Insulting his human was a no go. He was the only one who treated him with respect and valued him, so he couldn’t accept any insults or shit talks, but with his behavior he caused Rin trouble. Shyly he peeked at the redhead, afraid of what he might say later on.   
Maybe he would give him back because of this. 

Sousuke slapped himself over and over in his mind. How could he shame the other who treated him nicely? They were…friends…

With sad eyes he looked at the moving floor when Rin grabbed his arm.

“We are here” he announced cheerfully as if nothing had happened. Surprised and confused the black dogboy studied the other’s face. There was no trace of anger, sadness or regret. 

Why?

Dragging him into the store, Rin walked straight to the male section. He searched through the clothes hanger and shelves, taking some shirts and pants and dropping them on a chair. After a few minutes a whole pile was building up and Sousuke couldn’t do anything else as following him with big eyes in silence.

“Do you prefer any style or fabric?” asked Rin while looking at a black shirt with a shark motive on its front.

“Eh…” the dogboy turned his head to the other side, trying to evade the other’s gaze. “No…”

Red eyes studied his face. “Sousuke, look at me.” 

For a brief moment the dogboy closed his eyes, he couldn’t face him. He was afraid, afraid of rejection and blaming. Remorse was the worst. It hurt more than the beating, or shouting. It hurt his emotional part, his heart.   
But his human demanded something so he hesitantly lifted his face.

Sad teal eyes met gentle red ones.

“Don’t think about the stupid incident that happened. A lot of people shit talk but I don’t give a damn you know. I know you got angry for my sake and I’m grateful for it, but you don’t have to do it if you’re feeling bad after. But…thank you.”

He was moved by these words. Rin was so honest and real and Sousuke was hurting even more by his stupid actions. How could he be so lucky to get an understanding owner like him? Knowing his intentions without asking him? Not blaming him but instead thanking him?

God he was such an idiot.

Defeated he broke the eye contact and sighed.

Concerned the redhead was still looking at him, trying to find out what he was thinking. 

Did he say it right? Or did he make it worse?

Sousuke smiled shyly at him with watering eyes.

He uttered a soft “thank you” and turned hurriedly to the pile of clothes to inspect the different shirts and pants. Hiding his blush and blinking away the wetness, he grabbed a leather jacket and inspected it.

Rin had a toothy grin on his face and looked after the black dogboy. He poked his nose and followed him while saying “I picked cool stuff for you, right?”

Sousuke held a t shirt with a tiger print up and frowned. Lifting one eyebrow he asked “seriously dude?” 

“Man that’s totally trendy! Didn’t you see latest fashion?!” pouted the redhead and took the shirt out of his hands.

“If you don’t want it I’ll wear it.”

The black dogboy chuckled. Seriously this guy and his taste.

Relieved the other looked at him with a grin on his face. “I’m glad you’re feeling better now.”

Embarrassed Sousuke turned the other way. Lightly slapping on the other's back Rin gave him a bunch of clothes. “Here, try it on.”

After a few minutes the dogboy returned with his new outfit.

 

“Wow Sousuke you look…”… hot… “cool”, finished Rin with some coughing.

Sousuke was wearing black tight jeans, black boots, a white t-shirt with a guitar on it and a black leather jacket. To round out the outfit he wore sunglasses and a beanie. If you didn’t look at his tail you could think he was some kind of model or celebrity.

Rin was proud he chose this outfit, it matched him so well.

Flustered Sousuke turned his head away. In this moment the redhead snapped a quick shot with his cell phone so the other wouldn’t notice it.

“Let’s try the other outfits”, suggested Rin and picked something out of a pile of clothes.

“I don’t need so many clothes”, mumbled the dogboy grumpily.

“Don’t whine Sousuke, you need them.”

“Because you have a whole room full of clothes?” replied the other teasingly.

“Tch. This has nothing to do with it” snapped Rin and rummaged through the pile.

Sousuke smirked and walked back into the fitting room.

Looking at the large mirror, he was amazed by his reflection. He looked so human, okay his tail was still visible but with the beanie his ears were hidden and if he would wear a scarf nobody would notice his collar.  
He had to look good in public decided Sousuke, for Rin and himself. He would never embarrass his human like that again.   
Changing his clothes the dogboy stepped outside. This time he wore sneakers, a denim jeans and a blue shirt. It was a casual outfit but it fitted him in the same way.  
He had some problems with finding the right pants because of his tail but if the waistband was low enough he didn’t feel uncomfortable and the last two outfits were well picked by Rin.

The redhead nodded. “The sports style suits you too. Did you try the trackies already?”

“No.”

“Then go on. The pile is still pretty huge.” Rin eyed the pile of clothes.

“You picked too much.”

“Don’t argue! Change!” exclaimed Rin and threw a bundle of shirts and pants at him.

Grumbling, the other caught the clothes and returned to the fitting room.

Rin grinned. It really was a lot of fun with Sousuke and he already enjoyed his company so much. 

 

 

“Hey Sousuke”, Rin was walking beside the other, packed with bags and packages. “Wanna visit Haru and your dogfriend tomorrow?”

“Huh?” The dogboy eyed the redhead curiously. Seeing Makoto again? Would be nice…

“ 'Kay”, he replied flatly but his tail was wagging happily. 

Noticing the controversy Rin snickered. 

“You can show them your new outfit and shine!”

“Yeah yeah.”

“Don’t yeah yeah me dogboy, you know what it means!”

Sousuke peeked at Rin and grinned. Of course he knew what it meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter yay!  
> Again thanks for the awesome comments it really helps me to stay motivated :D
> 
> Btw I LOVE NEMUNEKOS! They are so cute and fluffy <3 So I shamelessly took my chance to include them hohoho ^.^  
> And Makoto would love them too, I believe in it xD  
> Okay this whole chapter is kind of my favorite because Makoto is so cute, Haru is a hero, Rin and Sousuke are best bros and their bickering is sweet.  
> Oh and by the way the last part about "yeah yeah" that's kind of a little joke among my friends and me because there's a movie or series were one of the main characters answered his friend "yes yes" and the other replied angrily " yes yes means LICK MY ASS, fuck off!"  
> So it's a little bit awkward when you don't know it but I wrote it so you can interpret it with your own background and imagination ^^  
> Hope it isn't too confusing ~  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter too!


	5. First Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Sousuke visited Haru and Makoto.

“Rin called me just this minute, he wants to come over. He’s also bringing his dogboy with him” announced Haru flatly.

Haru and Makoto were sitting in the living room. While his human was reading some swimming magazines the brunette dogboy was playing with his plush cats. From time to time he peeked at the colorful pictures of swimming athletes and big pools. When the other heard the news, his ears twitched.

“S-S-Sousuke is coming too?!” exclaimed Makoto surprised and his tail began waggling excitedly.

Haru hummed as response. 

Within a moment the dogboy was jumping on his feet and ran around the room, blabbing about the things he had to show and tell his friend.

“I-I have to show him Kuro-chan and Ao-chan and s-s-show him my new clothes and than there is the g-g-garden! He will love the garden, Haru we c-can go into the g-garden, right?”

Big green eyes were looking at him full of expectation.

“Mhm.”

“Yay!” The dogboy continued chattering happily about the things he would do and how much he had missed his friend.

“I’ll bake a cake for us” said Haru while reading his magazine.

Makoto froze.

Noticing the sudden silence the human peeked at the other.

C-C-C-C-C-Cake?!” The dogboy leaped to Haru’s side, almost slapping away the other magazines with his wagging tail.

Confused and surprised the other looked at him and nodded.

“T-Then…can I…eat c-c-c-cake, too?” asked Makoto hesitantly but the sheer expectation of cake filled him with happiness and excitement.

“Of course?” answered his human and lifted his eyebrows.

Makoto closed his eyes and shivered. Haru eyed him worriedly but in the next moment he barked happily and grinned from ear to ear.

“So…you like cake?” asked the human curiously.

“I l-l-love cake! One time I was allowed to lick my previous owner’s plate and it was so tasty! The crème was so sweet and the crumbs were so soft!” He told his human merrily.

Haru was confused. So he didn’t eat a slice of cake but only licked the leftovers?  
“And you didn’t eat a slice of cake by yourself?”

“Eh…no…” embarrassed Makoto fumbled with his tail. “I m-mean I’m grateful I c-could at least taste it”, he replied shyly and smiled.

Haru crossed his arms. “Well now you will get as much as you want.”

If Makoto’s eyes weren’t big enough the last moments, now they were popping out of his head. He looked at his human and was speechless. When he finally recovered from this unexpected declaration he smiled broadly and tackled Haru.

“T-t-thank you Haru! You’re the best!” he barked excitedly and licked the other’s cheek.

The human froze. What. Just. Happened?

Makoto, oblivious to his actions, released the other and sat obediently beside him, with wagging tail and bright green eyes.

Cautiously Haru touched his cheek. It was still kind of wet but the strange part was…he didn’t dislike it.

He blushed deeply while averting the gaze of the dogboy. 

Confused green eyes studied him. Why was his human blushing? Did he do something?

Internally recapping his actions, Makoto gaped. 

Oh. My. God.

He licked his human. On the cheek. Without noticing.

Ashamed and flustered the dogboy ducked his head. What has he done? Sometimes he could curse himself. He was so excited and so happy about the cake and the upcoming visit that his dog part took over. That was so embarrassing.  
Hiding his face behind his hands he mumbled apology after apology.

“It’s okay Makoto” said Haru softly and took the swimming magazine in his hands.

Peeking through his fingers the dogboy looked shyly at the other.

Haru’s cheeks returned to his usual pale skin color and his behavior was the same as usual as if nothing had happened.

Slowly taking his hand off of his face, he wiggled uneasily on his seat.

What could he do? The atmosphere was so intense and uncomfortable…

“What sorts of cake do you like?” asked Haru without lifting his eyes off his magazine.

The dogboy looked at him in confusion. Frowning, Makoto cerebrated while his tail was hitting slowly the ground, deep in thoughts.  
Haru peeked at the other, waiting patiently for his response. After a few minutes the dogboy answered shyly and precariously, “maybe chocolate?”

“Okay” replied his human flatly, already skipping through the recipes inside his head. 

Makoto tilted his head. That was all? No more questions? No complaining? Only accepting? So…would he bake the chocolate cake?

Curiously he eyed his human.

“What?” asked Haru irritated by the stare.

“So…d-d-do you make a c-c-chocolate cake?” questioned the dogboy shyly with eyes full of hope.

“Yeah.”

Makoto’s face was enlightened by an angelic smile and sparkling eyes. Clearly agitated but still staying on his seat, he was wagging wildly and barked a happy “thank you Haru”.

Hiding his smile, Haru buried his face into the magazine and hummed.

 

 

“Sousuke, I talked to Haru. We can come over this afternoon.”

The dogboy’s ears twitched.

Both were taking their now usual morning run. Sousuke’s stamina grew a lot in comparison to his beginning so now he was almost on equal terms with his owner.

He hummed as response and watched the ocean silently. Its surface was sparkling because of the morning sun, seagulls were flying near the shore and fishermen were already preparing their nets.

He came to like these silent morning runs, every now and then Rin talked about his friends or incidents of his past but most of the time they were running quietly side by side.

Thinking about the black haired human, Sousuke frowned. Hopefully he treated Makoto well, otherwise he would…

He peeked at Rin. 

Right, he had to stop this. Causing his human trouble. On the other side…he gritted his teeth.

“Oy Sousuke, stop looking like you could kill somebody right now.” 

Feeling caught the dogboy stopped his frowning and peeked at the other again.

“And, are you excited?” asked the redhead teasingly.  
Sousuke ignored his question but his tail was wagging rapidly.

Rin had to suppress a chuckle, instead he grinned and ran a little faster. 

 

The doorbell rang and Makoto dashed to the front door. Waiting for his human he bounced around while wagging wildly. When Haru emerged from the kitchen he looked at the other with smiling eyes and opened the door.  
He was immediately greeted by a big black haired dogboy who frowned at him sullenly.

“Sousuke out of the way” said Rin and pushed him away. He nervously rubbed his neck. “Sorry about this, hi Haru.”

“Hi” answered the other flatly while ignoring the glares of the other.

Behind Haru stood Makoto, filled with excitement but too shy because of the other human.  
Looking over his shoulder, he peeked at the brunette dogboy. 

“It’s okay Makoto” said Haru softly and stepped aside.

Shyly he eyed the red haired visitor and greeted him. “H-H-Hello. I-I’m Makoto.” Makoto bowed.

Encouraging the brunette with his blue eyes, Haru looked at him tenderly, pleased by his behavior.

“Hi Makoto, I'm Rin” answered Rin and grinned. 

When both, he and Haru, spoke over the phone, the only thing his friend was talking about was his adorable shy dogboy.

Makoto peeked around the redhead, looking for Sousuke.

As if called, Sousuke stepped into view and smiled at him.

“S-S-S-Sousuke!” exclaimed the other happily and tackled him heartily.

“Urgh Makoto! Nice to see you, too.” Affectionately he ruffled the brown mop of hair.

“Ne Sousuke, h-how are you? Are you eating w-w-well?” With big sparkling eyes Makoto looked at his friend, waggling in every possible direction.

“Now now, let’s go inside, then we can talk” he replied fondly.

“Yeah okay! Oh! I have to s-s-show you K-Kuro-chan and Ao-chan!” The brunette dogboy dragged the other with him and both vanished into the living room.

 

“Wow he’s really happy to see Sousuke, and he isn’t as shy as you described him Haru” said Rin while taking of his shoes.

“The whole day he was excited to see his only friend again. I can understand him. Normally he’s really reserved around unfamiliar people or things, it’s good that he already knew you from the start.”

“Right, I met him at the first day, man I almost forgot that.”

“How is Sousuke doing?” asked Haru curiously.

“Oh fine fine. Seems like he got used to me and the house. We take morning runs, I went shopping with him and he cooks from time to time.” Rin shrugged.

“Mhm I see.” Haru’s expression darkened when he remembered the terrible incidents at the mall.

“Did you…” he paused for a moment and looked at the redhead seriously, “have any problems while shopping with him?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” The other returned his gaze with confused red eyes.

“Nothing.” Haru turned around and walked into the living room, leaving the other behind. Still confused by the strange question Rin crossed his arms.

 

Meanwhile Makoto was merrily chattering with Sousuke, introducing him to his new plush cats and telling him about the exciting events he had until now. Sousuke listened to him attentively, every now and then nodding or mumbling a response.   
It was an endearing sign, two 180cm tall dogboys bending over plush cats, one of them talking happily with a broad smile, the other looking at him with a gentle smile. Both tails were wagging cheerfully and the atmosphere was as sweet as honey.  
Haru stayed at the doorframe for a few moments and enjoyed the sign. If this would have been a manga scene, he would expect to watch little flowers and stars flying around them. But it wasn't.

He hadn’t seen Makoto so open and happy with somebody else but him. A little part of him was jealous. He told him that Makoto should be his and only his, having only eyes for him and only paying attention to him but Haru knew that this wasn’t possible. The only thing that mattered was Makoto’s happiness, nothing else, so he had to deal with the black haired dogboy, if he wanted or not. He was a precious friend of Makoto so he had to accept him, too.  
Entering quietly the living room, he walked over to the kitchen and prepared the tableware.

Rin followed after him and sat down at table. He listened to the cheerful chattering and watched the two dogboys curiously. He never saw Sousuke so friendly before, he even stopped frowning. They almost looked like normal humans, speaking like that to each other, if you excluded the tails and ears.

But crossbreeds were animals, right? They could talk, in contrast to the other animals, but they still remained animals, nothing more, right?

The redhead frowned. He wasn’t so sure about this anymore, but everybody told him that, the media, the salesman, some of his friends, even the government. Nevertheless he felt uncomfortable. When the chatting stopped, he looked up. The two dogboys were eying him questionably.

“What’s wrong Rin?” asked Sousuke worriedly.

“Nothing” answered the other and stood up. “I’ll help Haru.” He turned around and left.  
Makoto looked at Sousuke. “D-D-Did I say something w-w-wrong?” he asked shyly.

The other shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” 

Sousuke looked after the redhead thoughtfully before he returned his gaze to his friend again.

 

“Hey Haru.” Rin whispered softly in Haru’s ear while the other prepared the cake with little sugar ornaments.

“Mh?”

“What do you think of crossbreeds?” he questioned nervously while watching the living room.  
He was afraid that the two dogboys could hear him, and the fear was justified because crossbreeds had better hearing abilities than normal humans.

“What do you mean?” His friend returned the question and lifted his eyebrows.

“Eh…you know…” Rin rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Well crossbreeds are animals, right?”

Haru frowned. “No.”

“Heh?” With big eyes the redhead looked at him surprised. “B-But officially they are considered as animals and everybody else told me-”

His friend interrupted him nonchalantly. “It doesn’t matter what everybody else says. I think they are humans like you and me.”

“But…”

Haru stared at him with cold serious blue eyes.

“Okay, okay…I’m just confused, that’s all”, admitted Rin.

“Why?”

“Because…” he ruffled his hair, desperate for finding the right words.

Noticing the other’s fail of words, he said, “it’s okay, you don’t have to answer. Let’s eat the cake.”

Rin studied the cake in Haru’s hands, obviously the craftsmanship of a pastry chef. 

“Seriously dude…that looks amazing.”

Smiling smugly Haru passed Rin and walked straight to the living room.

 

Meanwhile the two dogboys heard every bit of the previous conversation between the humans. Sousuke stopped Makoto from talking when Rin entered the kitchen so both knew the result of the discussion.   
With sad eyes Makoto studied Sousuke and pressed softly his arm.

“I think he doesn’t mean it that way.”

“No…it’s all right Makoto, I already know my place” replied Sousuke with a sad smile.

“B-B-But…”

“Makoto”, interrupted the black haired dogboy the other, “we are animals, and nobody can change that.”

Depressed the brunette dogboy looked at his lap and sniffed. In a low whisper he answered, “sometimes, when Haru and I are a-a-alone and he treats me like…you k-k-know…normal…I think t-t-that I-I-I’m human too. We both are.”

“I know that Haru is a good guy, even if I mistrusted him at the beginning. Man, I’m so glad for you”, said Sousuke softly and smiled at him gently. “You have a good owner.”

Makoto lifted his gaze, looking into gentle teal eyes. “Sousuke…”

 

Both were interrupted when Haru entered the living room with the chocolate cake in his hands.

Proudly he placed it on the table, enjoying the big eyes and “aww”s of the two dogboys.   
“I hope you’ll enjoy the cake”, he said softly.

“O-O-O-Of course!” exclaimed Makoto excitedly while wagging.

Sousuke eyed the other from the corner of his eyes and smiled. He was really happy for him, that he found somebody worthy of his friend.

Peeking at the redhead he met the other’s red eyes and flustered, his human broke his gaze and sat down beside Haru.

Thoughtfully Sousuke watched happy Makoto while Haru was slicing the cake into equal pieces.

At least Rin was a nice guy, even if he didn’t see him as a human or as an equal, he said he was his friend and that was enough. He treated him nicely and with respect. What else did he want? There was no beating, no shouting, no bad intentions but still…  
Sousuke felt that something was missing. And his heart stung, but he was used to it, he didn’t know anything else.

So he took the plate Haru handed him over, internally admiring the cake. Waiting for the others he raised his fork. Finally when everybody was provided with slices of cake they began eating. After the first bite, Sousuke enjoyed the taste of the dark chocolate. Bittersweet.

He didn’t notice Makoto’s worried eyes on him or Rin’s nervous gaze.

 

“Yeah, the garden is really sweet” said Sousuke and patted Makoto’s shoulder.

“Mhm!” replied the other merrily.

Both were sitting at the wooden floor of the porch, enjoying the scent of fresh grass and flowers.  
The black haired dogboy turned his view up to the sky, watching the clouds passing by. 

“Sousuke…” began Makoto shyly. 

But what could he say? Telling him that everything would be all right, that Rin was a good human and would see him as an equal? He wasn’t sure…what if he gave the other hope and it wasn’t returned? What if Sousuke got even more depressed?

The brunette dogboy was fumbling with his tail while thinking about the right words.

“Don’t worry Makoto, I’m okay” replied the other calmly, still watching the sky.

“I have a warm home, a nice human who cooks well and treats me nicely, how can I wish for more?”

“Still…”

Sousuke chuckled. “That’s really not like you to object someone. I see that you’re feeling comfortable.”

Embarrassed Makoto looked to the other side. “Are you happy?” he asked softly.

Man Makoto could really drop the bomb out of nowhere.

“Yeah”, answered Sousuke after a few moments.

“I-I-If you’re bothered b-b-by anything, you can t-talk to me, okay?”

“Mhm” hummed the black haired dogboy and smiled. He was glad that he could see his friend again, and that they could stay friends, meeting, talking, it helped him a lot.

 

From the living room, Rin shouted “Sousuke, it’s time to go!”

“Coming!” shouted the other back and stood up. “See you next time Makoto.”

“Mhm let’s meet again s-s-soon!”

And so the black haired dogboy returned to his owner’s side. Looking after his friend Makoto turned his gaze to the sky, wishing that his friend would find the same happiness as him.

 

 

When the visitors left, Haru sat beside Makoto, studying him with curious eyes. The other smiled at him but he couldn’t erase the trace of sadness which was still left.  
Counting one and one together Haru sighed.

“You heard us, right?”

Makoto flinched. Was he that obvious?

“It’s okay. I’m not mad.”

Looking at his lap, the dogboy said softly, “thank you for…seeing us as….humans…”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. It’s obvious that you’re humans and you are one of the kindest persons I know.”

Makoto shyly smiled and blushed. “Thank you Haru, I-I’m just worried…about Sousuke…”

“Why?”

“Because Sousuke is very s-s-sensitive. Even if he is g-grumpy most of the time and s-s-sometimes has a bad mouth, he is really nice and gentle. I-I know what he’s feeling…he is grateful for being o-owned by Rin and he wants to be important to him, b-being equal to him, s-standing beside him without shame or r-regret. But after hearing your conversation, h-h-he seemed so sad. I-I…want to help him…b-b-but I don’t know how…”

Haru laid his hand on Makoto’s shoulder. “Believe in him and Rin, they will work it out.”

“Mhm. I hope so.”

“And…” Haru looked at the other’s green eyes. “I meant what I said.”

“H-H-Haru…” 

His human stood up. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

Still flustered Makoto jumped on his feet and followed the other.

 

Rin’s and Sousuke’s drive home was silent. The human and dogboy were both lost in their own thoughts.

When the two entered the house, Rin said, “I’ll take a bath,” and walked upstairs. Sousuke hummed as response and eyed his surroundings. He didn’t want to go into his room yet and he wasn’t really hungry so he walked outside the front door and into the front yard.

Sitting under a far away cherry tree, Sousuke was alone by himself for the first time this day.

Sadly smiling to himself, he thought about the humans’ conversation.

He became greedy. That was it. He was lucky enough to have an understanding owner but he became greedy and wanted more. He forgot his roots, where he was coming from. What made him the way he was now. He would never be human, but he wished it. He was such a fool. He was a dog, nothing more, nothing less. How could he forget this vital part?

He sighed.

He reminded himself of his painful memories, his experiences, and the words his first owner said over and over again.  
Filled with so many emotions he couldn’t breath. It was so much, too much. 

Calm down he told himself.

Looking at the fallen cherry blossoms he smiled. 

Right. 

He eyed the front yard, searching for any other presence except himself. He was still alone, good. 

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and began to sing. He couldn’t remember the last time he was able to sing, had to sing. His voice was first shaky and cracked a few times but within a few moments he found his pace.

Singing was his way of handling the flood of emotions, and nobody else knew his secret, not even Makoto. It freed him, making him feel like he was more…

He sang a song about his memories, his sadness, his question of existence.   
What was he? Human? Dog? Something else?   
What made him the way he was now?  
When did he loose the ability to dream?   
What was his first wish?

He knew that nobody would or could answer his questions but saying it out loud relieved him.

 

Rin left the bathroom and walked through the hallway. Peeking at Sousuke’s room he sighed. His mind was a mess and bathing didn’t help. He wasn’t Haru. 

What was Sousuke to him? A human? An animal? What was he? How did he see him?

Filled with questions he went downstairs and looked around. No trace of the dogboy, strange. Where was he? Worried he checked every room in his house, but he didn’t find him. With growing panic he thought about other possibilities. Outside? He opened the front door and peeked outside.   
There was no one, but he could hear something. He curiously turned his head to the direction of the sound. Was that…singing?

He carefully walked passed a cherry tree and saw the dogboy sitting under one far away from him. Hiding behind the tree, he studied the other. So he WAS singing. 

Rin was shocked. He didn’t know crossbreeds could sing but on the other hand, why not? They were able to talk so there was the possibility that they could sing too.

Listening to the song, Rin’s eyes started to water. The lyrics were about Sousuke. His memories. His emotions. Raw and private. For nobody else but him.   
His voice sounded so sad, but soft and strong at the same time. 

He was moved. He could hear the other’s questions, his insecurity, things he would never tell anybody. Unsaid and kept away forever. 

And the expression of the black haired dogboy…his eyes were closed but his face was filled with concentration and calmness, the pure contrast to the emotional chaos of his song.

Rin didn’t notice that he was crying. He didn’t even see the damp spots on his t shirt. He had only eyes for the dogboy.

When Sousuke finished his song, he felt a lot better. Like a weight lifting of his shoulders, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He didn’t know how much time he spent there but it didn’t really matter. He felt a lot better now and catching one of the cherry blossoms, he studied it’s beautiful shape and color.

 

Rin froze when he saw that the dogboy opened his eyes, he rushed into the house, afraid of being seen. While walking into his bedroom, he wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. Closing the door, he slumped to the ground. What did he just witness?

He tried to process the past minutes but failed. He had never seen somebody like this, showing his bare soul like this and it disturbed him deeply, to his very own core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter is like the beginning of the next chapter so you can kinda guess what's coming up ~  
> I thought it was time to progress Rin and Sousuke's relationship because Rin's position was kinda vage since the beginning and now he finally thinks hard about his feelings and values.   
> I tried to create a chain of reactions with the end of this chapter as its key point...like a milestone in the relationship... I hope you can understand it somehow ^^"  
> And I try to show that the friendship between Makoto and Sousuke means a lot to them, being in the same situation, having similar experiences etc.   
> Next chapter will be a serious talk between Haru and Rin so you have the two sides of a coin, this time Makoto/Sousuke next time Haru/Rin   
> Let me know what you think about it, even if the end is a little bit sad, there will be a happy end don't worry :)
> 
> And thanks for the nice comments they always make my day :D


	6. First Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke and Rin are still trying to find their answers. Maybe Makoto can help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I rewrote this chapter a lot and changed the timeline a bit, next chapter will be up the next hours or tomorrow cause I don't like cliffhangers like this :(  
> It's kind of depressing so be prepared ^^"  
> And thank you for all the positive and constructive comments :D

Rin didn’t know how he should face Sousuke after this private moment. He didn’t leave his room for the day and the other accepted it. He had to think about the things that happened. He tried to find answers but couldn’t. How should he know how to treat Sousuke, he did it naturally without thinking too much, was that bad? He was a friend, that was for sure but where was the difference between animal and human? Was it the feelings? The ability of talking? The soul? 

These were deep questions, many people tried to find an answer but failed, so how was he supposed to find it?

And Sousuke…he didn’t know that the other was thinking about so many things, had so many questions…and insecurities…seeing him like this was strange because he always thought that he was strong, tough, independent and confident…didn’t care about his position or the opinions of others…

Before the incident he thought that it wasn’t quite necessary to think too deeply about the question of Sousuke’s definition, he seemed content with his new life, there was no need for it but now…

After waking up the next morning, he looked at the ceiling.   
He didn’t really find the solution last night, he needed more time and pretending that he didn’t see anything would be for the best, for now.   
Besides he didn’t know how the other would react if he found out that he had listened. Maybe he would become angry, or sad, or hurt…

Rin rolled on his side and sighed. He didn’t want to break the little trust they established between each other. It was fragile, like a little flower, right before blooming.

Still cerebrating, he tried to relax for a few more minutes and then jumped out of the bed. It was time.  
He refreshed himself in the bathroom and changed into his jogging outfit. Checking his reflection in the mirror, he made sure that nothing in his face would betray him.

Leaving his room and knocking at the dogboy’s door, he cleared his throat and asked softly 

“Morning Sousuke, you ready?”

“Yeah, wait a minute.”

He could hear some rumbling and creaking and then the black haired dogboy opened the door with bed hair. 

“Morning, let’s go.”

The human studied the other briefly without a comment except that he thought Sousuke with bed hair looked kinda cute. Then the redhead went downstairs, followed by the other.

Their morning run was the same as usual. Almost painfully normal. 

Sometimes Sousuke caught his human staring at him for brief moments but he didn’t really think about it. He knew his place, and he would accept it, over time… The dogboy began to erect his emotional walls again subtly to protect himself… but they were full of holes.

 

Weeks passed without much change. Both lived together like before but deep down they knew that something was off.   
Rin, still unsure how to respond properly and Sousuke, who resigned to talk about it anymore evaded the uncomfortable topic as much as possible. And it worked, somehow… 

 

Thinking about other topics while eating breakfast, Rin concentrated on the upcoming visit of his sister. He still had to clean his house for it. Even if it was kind of tidy, Gou looked really closely and she knew her brother and his secret closet that looked like the chaos itself. So he had to clean this up too.

“Hey Sousuke, my sister will be coming over in the next couple of days and I have to clean up some things, gonna help me?” he asked playfully.

“Mhm. No problem” replied the other while looking at his plate.

“Cool, thanks dude.”

 

Rin and Sousuke were rummaging through a big closet full of stuff the redhead wanted to keep for some reason whereas some of the content was pretty much trash, in Sousuke’s eyes.

The dogboy was organizing the things his human gave him, trying to sort out old things or useful discoveries.

Then Rin began shouting excitedly.

“Man, I didn’t know that I still have that! Wow that’s so old already, but it still looks so good!”

Proudly the redhead presented his new fund. It was a baseball bat, sighed with his name and an autograph of a famous Australian player.

Sousuke froze. It felt like his world collapsed and cold sweat began to cover his forehead while his tail was stuck between his legs, but Rin didn’t notice the change of atmosphere because he was still looking at the closet and bat.

“That reminds me of the incident how I got this one in the past!”

Just as Rin wanted to tell the story, the black haired dogboy excused himself and dashed upstairs.

Confused his human looked after him while holding the bat in his hand.

 

Finally closing the door of his room, Sousuke slumped down besides his bed. He was shivering and sweating badly. Touching his forehead, he wiped away the droplets of sweat with his shirt and tried to even his breath.

It was only a fucking baseball bat. Wood.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Unpleasant pictures of the past were coming up, tormenting him.

He had the urge to vomit.

When did he become so vulnerable? 

“Shit...” he whispered frustrated. 

He was fucking afraid of a fucking piece of wood he cursed internally.

Then he heard a knock on his door. Shocked eyes were staring at the wooden barrier. He didn’t want to be seen like this, and especially not by him.

Crawling completely behind the bed, he took a deep breath.

“Yeah?” His voice sounded normal, good.

“Eh…are you okay?” asked Rin from the other side, obviously worried.

“Yeah, I was feeling dizzy, I’ll be back in a minute.” What a lame excuse.

“Okay. I’ll be downstairs”. 

He could hear the fading footsteps of the human and sighed relieved.

Shit. Shit. Shit. He thought he was over it. Came to terms with it. He was stronger than before.

He looked at his shaking hands and clenched them. How much time did he need to calm down?

He would deal with it, alone. He always managed just fine by himself. He could do it. He didn’t need help. He wasn’t weak, he was strong.

Calming himself down with encouraging and composed thoughts, he breathed slowly and steady. Opening his eyes again, he stood up and walked over to the mirror. He was pale and there were still traces of sweat on his face and back, so he changed his clothes and went to the bathroom to wash his face. Again checking his reflection, he looked better now, still pale but more…normal.

So he went slowly downstairs helping his human with cleaning duties.

 

Rin knew that dizziness was bullshit. Sousuke didn’t look like he was dizzy, you couldn’t dash away like him when you were dizzy. He knew this because sometimes when his training regime was too exhausting and he didn’t pay attention to his bloodstream he became dizzy. Your eyes started to see stars, you felt this uncomfortable tingling and your legs were jelly.

So what was his problem?

He didn’t say something bad, he only showed him the baseball bat and then…

Oh…

Maybe it was the baseball bat? But why?

The little gears in Rin’s mind worked on high speed, processing the incident and possible connections.

He gaped.

Shit.

He eyed the baseball bat on the floor and sighed. He knew almost nothing about the black haired dogboy and his past. It was frustrating. Without any bad intentions he hurt him. He knew there was no way for him to expect Sousuke’s reaction but still…

Taking the bat, he hid it deep inside the drawer. He heard the other’s footsteps on the stairs and returned to his cleaning.

He had to talk to him, about this…later…

When Rin’s cell phone rang, he was surprised that the caller was Haru. Normally he never called, he sent sometimes short messages but that was it. 

Picking up in confusion, he said, “Hi Haru! Why are you calling?”

 

 

Makoto was still worried about Sousuke. He tried to find a way to help his friend, but he didn’t know how. He thought hard the whole night again but no idea struck him. Depressed his eyes became heavy and he slept the remaining hours till morning. 

Haru noticed the change in the dogboy’s behavior but he didn’t comment on it. It was natural that he was worried about his friend, even he was. He tried to trust Rin, but on the other side he knew that he could be dense, hopefully it wasn’t this time.

After breakfast still deeply in thoughts, Makoto was sitting in the living room with Shiro in his arms. He leaned on the other plush cats while his tail was wagging restlessly up and down. 

Haru said that both should handle it themselves but…weeks passed and there was no change.  
Maybe it helped him if they would talk about it? But Sousuke seemed uncomfortable when he tried to approach the topic. Maybe he should wait for him to approach him? But Sousuke was stubborn and tended to handle things on his own, without help, struggling all alone.

Makoto frowned. 

“If you’re worried you can call him” proposed Haru calmly.

The other tilted his head in question. Call? Could he…call his friend? But how…they didn’t have a cell phone…

Seeing the questions in the green eyes, Haru answered, “you can use mine, and I call Rin and he gives it Sousuke.”

That was brilliant!

“That’s a great idea Haru!” exclaimed Makoto cheerfully with wagging tail.

“But I have to tell Rin first, okay?”

“Yeah, sure!”

Taking the cell phone in his hand, the human dialed his friend’s number. 

“Hello Rin.”

“Hi Haru! Why are you calling?”

“Makoto wanted to talk to Sousuke, can he?” 

Strange…well, if he wanted it, why not? He probably missed him since the last visit, thought Rin suprised.

“Yeah of course, let me fetch him.”

After a brief moment of silence, Haru added softly, “how are things on your end?”

Feeling caught, Rin stopped his walking, “ah well…nothing changed…I still don’t really know Haru…” uneasy he began to walk at a good pace to the dogboy.

“I see” replied the other calmly. Rin had to find his answer on his own, but…  
“Rin did you-“

“Here, I got Sousuke” interrupted the other hastily. Haru reluctantly handed the cell phone over to the brunette dogboy and walked out of the room frowning. He had to do something before it escalated…

 

“Makoto?”

“Ah…H-Hello Sousuke! I wanted to call you!”

“Hey, what’s up?” asked the other curiously while heading towards his room. It was nice to hear the voice of his friend again.

Nervously Makoto walked up and down, “eh well…I wanted to ask you h-how you’re feeling?”

Makoto was such a worrywart, thought Sousuke and smiled.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

After a few moments of silence, Makoto whispered “are you sure?”

“Yeah, I only need time, that’s all” answered the other thoughtfully while looking at the white wall. “I have accepted Rin’s point of view, and it’s okay…What I think doesn’t matter in the end.”

“It does!” exclaimed Makoto shocked.

With a sad smile, the other replied, “no Makoto, because we are animals and animals don’t question their owners and opinions. They taught us this and I almost forgot that.”

“I-I know but…it feels so wrong…”

Sousuke knew what he meant, but it couldn’t be changed.

Makoto whispered desperately, “I…I want to help you…but I don’t know how…”

The black haired dogboy shook his head “there’s nothing you can do Makoto.”

Depressed he let his head sink. “But…”

“Thank you for calling…”

“Wait! M-Maybe we can talk…about things?” intervened Makoto hastily.

“Things?”

“Like…what bothers you…”

Sousuke sighed. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“B-But sometimes talking helps! Please, I’m listening! I’m your friend!”

Friend. Right.

After several moments Makoto could hear a big sigh and a creak on the other end.

“Makoto…eh…” uneasy Sousuke sat on his bed and looked at his lap. Maybe Makoto had also the same problem and knew how to fix this. 

“Do you have…sometimes…these flashbacks?”

Makoto was surprised that Sousuke would confine such a private thing like this to him, it was unusual, but in a good way. A part of him was happy that he did it, but it showed that his friend was fighting this whole time alone, trying to fix things on his own.

There was silence at the other end after the question. 

“Makoto?” asked Sousuke, looking at the cell phone to confirm that the other was still calling him.

Shaking his head to interrupt his thoughts, the brunette dogboy answered softly,  
“Yes…I still have nightmares…sometimes…”

In a small voice, Sousuke replied “me too.” He was relieved, somehow, not being the only one…

Again silence.

“Do you think it…stops eventually?” asked Sousuke hopefully.

“I don’t know…”

“Mhm…” He looked at his lap with sad eyes, so was there even a way to…fix this?

“But…I think…if you talk about it, it helps, like now…I feel better when I talk about it. When Haru hears my…screams…he asked why I was screaming and then we talk about it and I feel better after it…” said his friend thoughtfully with a hint of optimism.

“I see…” But he couldn’t talk about it with Rin. He didn’t want that the other knew about this, his weaknesses, he wanted to be strong for him.

Makoto could feel that the other was thinking about his words.

“You…can talk to me…if you want…” said the brunette dogboy softly.

“I…” Sousuke’s tongue felt heavy all of a sudden, thinking about the incident, he shivered slightly. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “There was this bat…and…I kind of…freaked out…”

It took all his strength to say these few words.

“It’s okay Sousuke…Could you calm down?”

“Mhm yeah…”

“Did you…talk to Rin?”

“NO!” exclaimed Sousuke scandalized.

“O-Okay okay, sorry for asking” replied Makoto hurriedly.

Rubbing his forehead, the other said apologetically, “no sorry Makoto…It’s…I don’t want to talk with him about it.”

Biting his lip, the brunette dogboy eyed Shiro, “maybe…you should talk with him.”

“I won’t talk about this with Rin” answered Sousuke firmly.

“Why?” 

“Because…I don’t want to bother him, okay? I can’t show him this side of me, what if…” he brought me back? Sousuke swallowed the rest of the words.  
Not finishing his sentence he lay down on his bed. While looking at the ceiling, he tried to imagine Makoto’s face on the other end of the line.  
“He’s important to me and I don’t want to show him this…part of me…”

“I see… think about it…it’s only an idea…” His friend’s calm friendly voice made him feeling better. He liked it, it was like this nice breeze you enjoy on a sunny day.

“Mhm…”

Makoto looked thoughtfully at his plush cat. Maybe Sousuke really needed more time…to be able to talk about these things with his human, talking with him was the first step so maybe later he was able to take the next one…

After a few moments of silence, the brunette dogboy asked,

“Feeling better?”

Sousuke closed his eyes for a second and smiled softly.

“Yeah.”

“See I told you talking helps!” said the other cheerfully.

“Thank you” mumbled Sousuke quietly. He could hear a light chuckle and the smile in Makoto’s voice.

“Anytime.”

Clearing his throat, the black haired dogboy sat up and said “it’s time to go. Bye Makoto.”

“Mhm, you can call me anytime you want! Eh I mean you can call Haru and then he can-“

“Thanks Makoto” interrupted the other friendly.

“Oh okay bye Sousuke!”

Then he heard the click and looked absentmindedly at the cell phone.

 

After the conversation with Makoto, he felt better, somehow…  
Hearing the voice of his friend, seeing his interest in him, feeling his care, it eased his shattered mind.  
At first he thought about talking with Rin but what right did he have? Telling his human that he had problems with his haunting past, that he wanted to be more…  
But Rin already told Haru his point of view, and he had to accept it…even if he himself didn’t like it…

Rolling on his side, Sousuke looked at the clear white sheets. He was afraid. By now, Rin only knew a tiny part of him, what if he got to know all of him, all his ugly painful terrible broken parts of him…the nightmares…the unknown triggers…the memories…what would he do if you knew all that?

He would discard him, that was sure, and nobody could change his mind about it. It was only natural, disposing broken and bothersome things…

Shit, he didn’t want to loose Rin. And he couldn’t imagine a life without him anymore. How was life before he met his human? Painful, monotonous, a nightmare on its own.  
He liked him a lot, his playful character, his honesty, his ambition, his swimming obsession…

But…when Rin would make the decision to leave him, he would…

Sousuke pressed his face into the soft pillows.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why couldn’t he be normal? Being normal friends with him? He would give everything for being a normal human. 

Shit…


	7. First Check up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first check up for Makoto and Sousuke, what will happen? And what is this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the promised chapter continuation. I didn't want to use only one chapter for the First Call and First Check up because it would have been way too long so I split it ^^"  
> This chapter broke my heart when I wrote it, especially one scene, you can guess which one ;)  
> But don't worry the end of the chapter is positive so be strong!

Almost finished with his duty, Rin took a deep breath. It was exhausting but now the closet was finally tidy. He somehow had the feeling that he forgot something but couldn’t quite catch it. Thinking hard, he bumped a fist on his other hand.  
Looking at the black haired dogboy who was coming downstairs at the same moment, he said, 

“Oh right! We have to go to your check up Sousuke!” 

Right. After some time there was a check up for crossbreeds. They inspected your health and body and asked questions about your well being. Annoying.

Hesitantly Sousuke answered “yeah, right…” Maybe it was a distraction.

“We can go after clean up, ‘kay?”

“Mhm.”

 

After Makoto returned with the cell phone, Haru studied the other’s face. He looked happier than before, but still worried. At least it helped a little bit. On the other side he still thought about how he could approach Rin in a way that he would help but not influence him too much.  
He tried it a few times but Rin brushed him off. The redhead really had some nerve.

Looking at the calendar Haru saw the red mark on today’s day. Right, there was this, he almost forgot it. Eyeing Makoto he knew that this would become difficult, but they had to do it. 

Sitting beside the dogboy, he said in a calm voice,” Makoto we have to go to your checkup today.”

The other froze and with big eyes he looked at his human.

Makoto didn’t like needles. He also didn’t like doctors, or nurses, or hospitals. They were scary. So he wasn’t really happy when he heard that it was already time for his check up.

“Do I really h-h-have to go there?” He nervously asked Haru.

“Mhm”, hummed the other while checking the surgery hours.

Anxiously the dogboy fumbled with his tail. “Eh…can we go tomorrow, and not today?” 

“Makoto. Today.”

“Awe…” Grabbing his plush cats he walked over to the seat cushions and pouted.

Cute, thought Haru when he peeked over his shoulder.

But they had to go, there was no point denying it and the sooner the better. There was a regulation that after owning a crossbreed for a specific period of time you had to visit a crossbreed doctor for a check up. It existed to prevent physical or mental abuse and to detect it in an early state. This regulation became law thanks to crossbreed activists who caused a huge media uproar several years ago. But not everybody took it serious.

Later both walked to the train station. Taking Shiro with him, Makoto was still feeling uneasy. It wasn’t his first check up but he still didn’t like it even though sometimes the doctor gave him a treat.  
His previous owners didn’t pay attention to this, so it was a long time ago since the last one and the animal shelter had their own staff.  
Sighing, the dogboy peeked at his human. At least Haru was with him. He was still feeling uneasy but with Haru by his side he wasn’t afraid. Peeking at the other’s hand from the corner of his eyes, he wished that they could hold hands again but he was too shy to ask. Hugging his white plush cat tighter, he made the decision that one day he would be brave enough to ask Haru. The mere thought brought a big smile on his lips.

 

When both entered the crossbreed doctor’s office Makoto was hiding behind Haru while clutching to his jacket.

“Hello. We have an appointment”, said Haru flatly while waiting at the front desk.

Skipping through her notebook the doctor’s assistant answered politely, “Ah hello Mr. Nanase! Please wait a moment in the anteroom until the doctor is finished with his previous patient.”

Haru looked at Makoto reassuringly and both went to the mentioned room.

Walking straight to the remaining free seats, his human grabbed Makoto’s arm and dragged him along. The dogboy observed nervously the other persons present. There were other crossbreeds, a catboy and a bunnyboy and their owners. Eying the new visitors, the two owners inspected the brunette curiously. Under their cold eyes he squirmed uneasily and sat down beside his human.  
Haru easily ignored the rest of the people and skipped through the available magazines. Knowing Makoto’s taste, he gave him a magazine about traveling. 

The dogboy couldn’t read but he enjoyed looking at the colorful pictures, especially landscapes, plants or animals were his favorite. But he was also interested in swimming because Haru liked swimming a lot and was really good at it. Sometimes he showed him pictures of his races and the dogboy thought that his human looked really beautiful while swimming, like a dolphin, like being at home.

Makoto opened curiously the journal about “traveling around the world within a year”. Looking at the landscapes of foreign countries, he tried to imagine himself in these pictures. Watching the beautiful red sunset on the highest mountain or enjoying the sweet milky coconut juice while relaxing on tropical beaches. 

Makoto shyly smiled.

Touching softly the paper, he circuited the shape of a big building. It was huge and looked like a triangle, well somehow and it seemed like it was made out of metal or steel or something. Peeking shyly at his human, Makoto asked quietly” H-Haru what is that?” while pointing at the building.  
The other studied the picture and answered “that’s the Eiffel Tower. It’s standing in Paris, the capital of France.”  
“Oh…” Makoto inspected the building again. France was in Europe, so much he already knew. 

“Haru?”

“Hm?”

“Did you already visit France?” Green eyes were looking at him full of curiosity.

“Yeah” answered Haru plainly.

“And how was it?”

“Hm…” Thoughtfully Haru tilted his head. “Okay I guess, but the food was terrible.”

Makoto chuckled. “D-Did you see the Eiffel Tower?”

“Not really, I was only passing by.”

“I see…” 

What were you doing in France was Makoto’s next question but he refrained. He didn’t know if it was too private and if he was even allowed to ask but Haru already read his question right out of his eyes.

“I was swimming at a tournament” he said quietly.

Makoto smiled broadly. He really liked that both of them didn’t need to say everything out loud but were also able to talk through eye contact.

“Rin was in France too” added Haru, “the last day he was so drunk because of the whine that he vomited on the whole hotel carpet.” Remembering the incident, he frowned.

The dogboy snickered. “I can imagine that.”

One of the two other humans was sniffing at them. Lifting one of his eyebrows Haru inspected the other. The man turned his gaze down and continued reading his magazine.

After a few moments Makoto asked while pointing at another picture, “and w-what is that?”  
Observing the photograph, the other answered, “that’s Big Ben, a huge clock tower. It’s located in London, the capital of England.”

With big eyes, Makoto studied the colorful picture. 

Without asking, Haru added “we visited London too. It was at the same time as the Paris visit. The tea was nice but their food was…strange…” He frowned thoughtfully.

“Hehe seems like you don’t like European food”, snickered Makoto.

“Mhm you could say that. But some things were good, their fish and chips for example.”

“Fish and chips?” asked the other curiously.

“Yeah. Deep-fried potatoes and fish. They sell it in a paper bag on the street. It’s not really healthy but it’s tasty, once in a while.”

Makoto imagined the hot fish and fries, the delicious scent and the crispy crust. His mouth began to water.

Noticing the dogboy’s reaction Haru smiled internally and whispered, “I can cook you fish and chips later if you want.”

With big surprised eyes the other looked at him. His tail was wagging happily when a broad smile illuminated his face.

“That would be great!” replied Makoto happily.

Both were interrupted when they heard Haru’s name from the doctor’s room.

His nervousness returned mercilessly. Shivering from head to toe the brunette dogboy looked helplessly at his human. Blue gentle eyes were watching him.

I’m with you, don’t worry.

Makoto calmed down a little bit and hugged his white plush cat tightly. Following Haru, he slowly walked into the exam room with his tail between his legs.

 

“Ah, hello Mr. Nanase, and Makoto-kun”, greeted the doctor politely.

Taking a seat, the dogboy peeked shyly at his human and then at the doctor while Haru paid close attention to him.

“Hello” replied Haru flatly.

“H-Hello Sensei.”

“So Makoto-kun, how have you been?” asked the other human friendly.

“F-Fine” he answered while observing nervously the room. There were devices he didn’t know but they looked strange and a table at the other side of the room was covered in instruments and little bottles filled with different liquids. 

Makoto shuddered.

“You don’t have to be troubled Makoto-kun. I’ll only examine you, okay?”

The dogboy swallowed audibly.

 

During the whole examination Makoto glued his eyes on Haru’s blue ones. Concentrating on the beautiful azure color which reminded him of the ocean, he ignored the shivering and nervousness.

Haru was with him, by his side, protecting him.

Finishing the whole procedure, the doctor and dogboy sat down again.

“You’re results are quite good Makoto-kun, a lot better than last time. Nevertheless I noticed that you have still problems with your anxiety. Do you need help with it?”

Confused Makoto looked at the human and tilted his head. “W-What help?”

“For example medication against anxiety” answered the doctor.

Haru frowned but didn’t intervene. 

“It helps you to deal with stressful situations or flashbacks.”

Did he need medication? He knew that he was afraid of a lot of things and that he became easily nervous but…did he really need pills? He thought he would get used to unfamiliar situations, would come to terms with his bad experiences over time…would work things out with Haru’s help…  
With dropped ears and unsure eyes he peeked at the doctor.

“Do I really h-have to?”

“That’s not my decision. It’s the decision of your owner, Mr. Nanase. But I can only advise you to think about it. I know your background and I checked your previous files before you came today so I proposed you an option, but if you don’t want to take it, it’s okay, you don’t have to. “

After finishing he faced Haru once again.

“Nevertheless I have to remind you Mr. Nanase, that, as a responsible owner, you have to be aware of Makoto’s behavior and problems. You can try to work things out together but if you have any doubt or problems, please contact me. The next regular check up will be in a few months.”

“What do you think Makoto?” asked Haru calmly.

Meeting his gaze, Makoto was still unsure but he wanted to try.

“C-Can we try to…handle this…together?” His voice was soft and shy. He didn’t want to bother his human but maybe with Haru, he could overcome his past.

“Of course Makoto” replied Haru and smiled gently. Patting his head, he turned to the doctor.

“I think first of all we’ll try it without medication.”

“That’s fine with me.” The man adjusted his glasses and added “it’s good to see someone who values his crossbreed.”

Merrily wagging Makoto was grateful and happy. Smiling to himself he hugged Shiro tenderly and thought about how lucky he was having Haru.

“You can arrange your next visit with my assistant at the front desk. Oh I almost forgot!”  
Hurriedly the doctor opened one of his desk drawers and fetched a big lollipop. “I remembered you like sweets, here you go.”

He handed the sweet treat over and smiled. Shyly, Makoto took the lollipop in his hand and inspected it curiously. It was round and had red and white stripes. Then with shining green eyes he said cheerfully “thank you!”

Haru watched the scene and smiled internally. Standing up he and Makoto said their good bye and left the room.

 

Finally on their way home, Makoto licked merrily the lollipop, enjoying the sweet taste of strawberry and cream. 

Breaking the comfortable silence, Haru asked, “and, was the visit so bad?”

“No not really” replied the dogboy thoughtfully, “but that’s only because you were with me!”

With a tiny smile on his lips, Haru watched the brunette affectionately. He was grateful and honored that Makoto trusted him so much and he knew that they would overcome any hardship…together.

 

 

Rin and Sousuke were sitting in the waiting room. There were other crossbreeds with their owners present, but Sousuke ignored them completely.  
Staring at the clock he saw the ticking clockhand and counted the passing minutes.

A fat lady in their 50’s approached the redhead. She was wearing an obvious expensive dress, sunglasses and a big hat. Her blonde hair was short and curly and her fingers were covered with golden rings. 

“Mister, your pet looks really exotic!” she exclaimed cheerfully. “So tall and muscular!”

Rin eyed her uncomfortably and uttered a “thanks.”

“Well, my little kitty here was really expensive. She’s the only one with golden hair, I requested her personally by the company” chuckled the old lady pleased by her comment.

Rin studied the woman sitting at the other end of the room. She was a cat crossbreed with long golden hair, straight ears and a long fluffy tail. Unimpressed she looked at her owner, her eyes without any gleam of life. Rin shuddered.

“Hm, would you sell your dogboy to me? I collect crossbreeds and I didn’t see a black dog till now.”

The redhead gritted his teeth. “No, I don’t sell him.”

“Oh, young man, don’t be shy, I’ll give you enough so you can buy another one.”

Sousuke glared at the old woman. Noticing his sharp eyes, she audibly inhaled. “But I get the feeling that I still have to train him.”

“As I said, I don’t sell him” replied Rin angrily.

“My, my young people these days don’t respect their elders!” She said scandalized and returned to her seat, patting the head of the catgirl.

Rin was enraged, how dare she? This fat old hag insulted him and Sousuke. Crossing his arms, he glared to the other side of the room, showing his teeth.  
The woman caught his face and with big eyes turned her gaze away. Content, Rin peeked at the black haired dogboy. 

Sousuke wasn’t looking at him, he was silently staring at his lap. What a shitty day.  
But…he was kind of happy that Rin didn’t want to sell him…yet…

 

“I’m pleased with the checkup Matsuoka-san. Your crossbreed is as healthy as he can be,” explained the doctor and smiled.

“Oh and Sousuke-kun, did you take your antidepressants regularly?”

The dogboy looked shocked at the other human. Fuck.

“Wait, you take antidepressants?!” shouted Rin shocked. What the fuck is going on?

“No I didn’t”, uttered the dogboy with a growl.

The doctor sighed. “But you know you have to-”

“I won’t” interrupted Sousuke and ignored the redhead’s comment.

“Sousuke! Look at me!” shouted his human and grabbed his arm tightly.

With calm teal eyes, he faced the other and said “I don’t, and I won’t.”

“But why do you need them anyway, huh?”

He threw a cold gaze over to the doctor, hoping that he would shut up.

Ignoring the crossbreed, the doctor cleared his throat and continued “after the terrible experiences of Sou-“

“SHUT UP!” shouted the dogboy angrily and stood up. He bared his teeth and growled.

Unimpressed, the other human said calmly, “Sousuke-kun, sit down. We aren’t finished.”

“No!”

The doctor sighed.

“Very well, I won’t talk about this anymore, but I can only advise you to take it, it makes your life easier, more…stable.”

With big shocked eyes Rin watched the whole scene. What the fuck?

Sousuke sat down with crossed arms and glared at his counterpart.

The doctor turned to the redhead and added, “Matsuoka-san, we are finished. I’ll prepare the documents for you. You can fetch them at the front desk.”

“O-Okay thank you.”

Both stood up and left the room without another word. When the door was closed, the doctor sighed and looked at his files with sad eyes.

 

Rin was angry, and hurt, and disappointed. Why didn’t he tell him something this important?

On their drive home, the two said nothing to each other and when Rin finally parked, his grip on the steering wheel tightened. Staring at the black leather, he said sternly,  
“Sousuke, we have to talk.”

He knew that this would happen. Stupid doctor, stupid check up. Cursing inside, the dogboy only nodded once and left the car.

 

Inside, both sat on opposite sides of the dining table and were silent.

Rin was the first one who spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked calmly, but you could hear the angry undertone.

“It had nothing to do with you” answered Sousuke dryly.

“SERIOUSLY? YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT?!” shouted Rin and put his foot down.

Sousuke flinched unwillingly. He looked at his lap and remained silent.

“Hah! I see! Because I’m not worthy of knowing, huh? Don’t you trust me?” his voice became softer by these words.

That’s not it, thought Sousuke, but he couldn’t say it, his tongue felt numb so he stared at his hands. Don’t show weakness.

“Not even talking to me, huh? And what was this morning?” 

Surprised he looked at the redhead.

“Man, obviously, you weren’t dizzy, so what was it?” Again Sousuke broke the eye contact and gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t admit it.

The human waited a few moments for a response. Angrily he shouted,

“You still don’t want to talk about this? Fine! But you know, I heard you, in the front yard…”

Sousuke looked at him in confusion, what did he mean?

“After the visit at Haru’s” added the redhead while observing the other’s reaction.

The dogboy’s eyes became big. He never had imagined that somebody had heard him. He pressed his lips together, forming a tight line. Nobody should hear that, nobody. And now Rin listened to his weakness, his insecurity…his…vulnerability…  
Tightly closing his eyes he felt lost. His mind was a mess. He didn’t want that his human saw him like this…how…broken he was inside…what would he think? How…unfitted he was…for him?

“You still don’t want to talk about us? That we both are walking on eggshells around each other? That we aren’t like we used to be around each other? That we both never talk about the real topic that’s on our mind? What is your problem, tell me!” shouted the redhead disappointed.

Sousuke opened his eyes and looked at his lap. He was afraid, afraid of being discarded like the times before…but what could he say? What could he say to make the other understand…

He shook his head. 

“Talk to me!”

No, animals don’t talk about weakness or insecurity…they only listen…and obey…he would do as he was used to…talking back would make it worse…it was always like this…he didn’t matter…only Rin…

“Am I the only one who tries to change that? Are you…even happy being with me?” He looked desperately, expectantly, hopefully at the other, waiting for a reaction, any reaction…

Silence. Helplessly and unable to move, Sousuke tried to lift his eyes. You’re my world.

“Ok, you know what? If you don’t want to talk about it fine! Fuck it!” shouted Rin and dashed out of the living room. 

He tried to talk to him, tried to listen to him, but the other ignored him entirely. He was so angry and hurt…So he was the only one in chaos? Trying to find a solution for the never ending questions? Was he the only one working on their relationship in earnest? So Sousuke didn’t care at all…lost his…interest in him? Wasn’t happy being with him?

It was the last expression Sousuke saw of him, a face distorted by anger, pain and doubt.  
The dogboy was again staring at his hands, utterly defeated. His eyes prickled but he couldn’t shed any tears.  
He was disgusted with himself, his behavior, everything. But what could he do? He couldn’t tell Rin. He couldn’t show him how broken he was inside.  
He tried to hide his weaknesses, his ugly sides and without knowing he exposed a part of it to the one person he never wanted to show it.

Sighing he studied the living room.

What next?

He stood up and walked over to the picture frames. With sad eyes, he studied the happy faces of Rin, his friends and family. He would never be a part of it. Even if he tried, and wished for it so badly. He took one picture frame in his hands, his lips forming a broken smile. It was a picture of Rin and his family. A young girl stood beside him, probably his sister Gou, and a pretty older woman, obviously his mother. All looked so happy. A happy family. 

His eyes began to water. He didn’t match, in any of them.  
Sousuke cursed himself, his life, his being.  
Remembering the hurt expression of the only person who mattered to him, he turned around and looked at his fists. There was no going back. He destroyed his only chance of happiness and hurt his most important human, again.

Taking a few steps away from the shelf, he made a decision.

This time it would be different. He knew that Rin’s life would be better, happier without him. And so he would make the decision this time, showing strength, even if it would destroy his remaining heart, he knew what he had to do…he went to the front door, with nothing in his hands and left. Silently. As if he was never seen before.

Walking through the front yard, he enjoyed the sight of the cherry blossoms one last time. Opening the front gate, he took one lingering look back.  
At least he had some happy memories, and he would treasure them, for the rest of his life.  
And soon, Rin would forget him and his painful experiences and humiliation with him and then he would start new…with somebody who could make him happy, who would not be too scared of his own self, who wasn’t greedy to be more than he could be…should be…  
He walked along the street, with his hands in his pockets. He looked at the cold black asphalt and felt the shivering but familiar feeling of loneliness again.

 

Rin didn’t notice any of this. He was angry, and hurt and frustrated. He punched the pillows on his bed until feathers were flying around but he didn’t care. Why did Sousuke ignore him? Since when did he stop talking to him? When was the last time everything was fine? Since when did everything get out of line?

The redhead looked at the torn fabric and thought hard.

Everything began…after visiting Haru’s when Sousuke sang…

His mind was spinning, busy with reminiscing and processing.

But the visit was nice, he was happy…so why did he sing in the first place?

His eyes became a fraction wider.

Wait.

Did he hear the conversation with Haru?

Rin looked shocked at his hands. So…was he the cause?

Shit.

SHIT SHIT SHIT

It was his fault. And his stupid silly words.

Shit.

He tried so hard to give Sousuke the right answer, to find a way to be together with him, but instead excluded him unknowingly out of his mind. He was calling him a friend but didn’t treat him like one. He treated him nicely and had fun with him, but he was never on the same step as him. Because. He didn’t let him. He didn’t let him in. He was still looking for his answer and by this he didn’t look at him properly, too busy with himself, his feelings and thoughts. He compared other opinions and mindsets with his own, instead of creating a new one. He thought about crossbreeds in general and public and looked at the big context rather than concentrating on the one person who was affected by his opinion. 

Rin slapped himself internally. 

God he was so stupid, Haru was right all along. Of course Crossbreeds were more than animals. It was painfully obvious. He already knew it after hearing Sousuke’s song, maybe even before that, but he wasn’t aware of it. His feelings changed but he couldn’t see it. He listened to Sousuke’s sadness, memories and questions about his existence and standing but he ignored it, busy sorting out his own feelings, trying desperately to find a solution for a problem that didn’t exist.

“Shit”, cursed Rin. “What have I done?”

He was the first one who shut Sousuke off and so the other did what he was used to, playing the role of an animal.

 

He had to talk to him. NOW.

 

Rin jumped out of his bed and ran downstairs. He entered the living room but nobody was there. 

“Sousuke?” he shouted but there was no response. 

He checked every room and every closet, but the black haired dogboy was nowhere to be found. The last option was the front yard but even there was nothing else but cherry trees.

“Fuck.” Confused and out of breath, Rin stood under one of the trees and looked around. 

Nothing. 

He slumped down. 

Did he leave? 

Ah maybe he went to Haru and Makoto!

So the redhead dashed back to his house, slammed the front door shut and searched feverishly for his cell phone. Nervously calling the familiar number, he impatiently tapped his fingers on the wall beside him.

 

 

“Makoto. Let’s go to the beach” proposed Haru while eating his beloved mackerel. Surprised the brunette dogboy looked at his human.

“Can you swim?” asked Haru seriously.

“Eh…” Makoto looked as his plate shamefully. After a few moments he answered a tiny “no”.

“Okay, then I’ll teach you” replied the other while sipping at his tea.

Big green eyes looked at him in shock. “B-But I don’t have jammers…”

“Don’t worry, I already brought you one” replied Haru dryly.

“Huh?! W-When?” asked the other surprised.

“When we were shopping, I even bought a new pair for myself.”

Both were interrupted when Haru’s cell phone began to ring.

 

“Hello?”

“Ah, Haru! Hi! Eh…did you see Sousuke? Is he staying with you?” asked his friend nervously.

“No? Why should he?” Haru lifted one of his eyebrows in question.

Panic filled Rin. He cerebrated, desperately trying to find possible places where the dogboy could be.

Irritated by the sudden silence on the other end, Haru asked worriedly, “Rin?”

“Hello Rin?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I fucked up Haru” he answered in a tiny broken voice.

“Rin…what happened?” asked Haru concerned.

“S-Sousuke and I fought, and now I can’t find him anywhere. He left!” The redhead shouted the last words in panic.

“Calm down. We’ll find him.”

“Ha…hahahaha and how Haru?! How do you want to find him, HEH?!”

The only word his friend replied was a name. “Makoto.”

Rin gaped. “Makoto….Makoto?...MAKOTO?! HOW THE HELL COULD THE DOGB-”

“Rin. Stop it right now” replied Haru dangerously and instantly Rin kept his mouth shut.

“Makoto can find him, with his nose.”

With big eyes Rin stared at the wall. Fuck he was so stupid of course Makoto could find him, he was a dogboy too, so he could smell a lot better than the others.

Rin sighed.

“Thank you.”

“We’ll come over right now.”

“Okay.”

Makoto listened to the bits of their conversation with growing apprehension.

 

“So while Makoto is taking in Sousuke’s scent, what happened?”

Haru was sitting on the couch beside Rin while Makoto was in Sousuke’s room and sniffed at his clothes.

“I fucked up. Sousuke and I were at the check up today and the doctor said something about taking antidepressants… and man I didn’t know he should take it. He didn’t talk to me about this and when I tried to confront him, he remained silent. He didn’t say anything. So I got angry and went upstairs and when I tried to talk to him again I couldn’t find him.”

“I see” answered Haru thoughtfully.

“Shit. I hurt him Haru, I think he heard our conversation at my visit, and the bullshit I was saying, and after that everything was different, somehow…he acted normally but deep inside I felt like something was different. And I really tried to think about it, how I…see crossbreeds and that…”

Blue eyes studied him closely. “He did hear us” confirmed the other. 

Rin blinked a few times. What?

“You knew this?! And you didn’t tell me?!”

“I thought you were able to work things out by now but I underestimated your denseness.”

“HUH?!” The redhead glared daggers at him.

Haru sighed. “You should think hard about it, otherwise you’ll loose him for real.”

“But I officially I ow-“

“Don’t. Even. Think. About telling me that you own him” replied Haru upset. “Learn from this you idiot.”

The redhead turned his face ashamed away.

“Even if you don’t change your way of thinking and he comes back, he won’t open up to you. He will live in your house but not with you.”

“Sorry” replied the other.

“Don’t apologize to me” said Haru flatly and sighed.

“How do you think other people see Makoto and Sousuke?”

Rin looked at his friend precariously, “Well…”

Helping the redhead, he asked additionally, “how was your first shopping trip?”

“Haru what has this to do with…” he stopped. Finally the scales fell from his eyes. He remembered the hateful comments, the insults and the pain in Sousuke’s eyes. He looked at his hands and sighed. Now he finally understood why his friend asked him the same question at his visit. “Our shopping trip was fine, until the other people insulted us.”

Haru’s eyes were filled with appreciation. 

“Did this…happen to you too?” asked Rin softly.

His friend nodded and frowned. “Some teenagers tried to throw a shake at Makoto.”

“Shit…”

“Imagine a whole life full of this. Can you deal with it? For the two of you?” 

“You mean with society?”

“It’s not only society. When Makoto and I were at his check up today, it reminded me of the terrible experiences he had to endure his whole life. That we both have to work on it, handle it, solve it. So, are you ready for this?” 

“I don’t know” replied Rin hesitantly and sighed. “I mean I really want to help him but I don’t know if he’ll let me.”

“Rin. You can’t act half-assed anymore.”

“I wasn’t half-assed!”

Ignoring the comment, Haru continued, “make a decision. Treat him like someone equal and work on your relationship together or look for a real pet.”

“H-Haru!” 

His friend peeked at him and continued.

“What does Sousuke mean to you?” 

Big red eyes met serious blue ones.

“He’s my friend” answered Rin firmly, “and I don’t want him to leave me, I want him by my side.”

“Then, if he’s really so important to you, you would fight against the world for him, wouldn’t you? Remember the time when you even dragged me to Australia because I couldn’t find my own dream?”

The redhead smiled, “yeah…”

“You would do everything for your friends, I know it, and…I appreciate it, even if I don’t say it often” Haru paused for a few moments. Taking a deep breath, he asked solemnly, “so again, can you deal with it?” 

Haru’s face was serious and patiently he waited for the other’s reply.

In this moment Rin was so grateful that Haru was one of his friends. He opened his eyes, helped to sort out his feelings and forced him to face his problems. He smiled.

“Yeah…I will, for the two of us…”

Haru smiled gently at the other. 

“Thank you”, whispered the redhead softly.

And for a few moments both remained silent. Then Haru asked him one last question.

“So…what do you want to tell him?”

“Eh…I…” Rin broke his gaze and looked at his lap. What would he say? Trying to verbalize his thoughts and feelings was hard…

Stomping footsteps interrupted them when Makoto appeared on the threshold. 

“I’m ready!” He announced while holding one of Sousuke’s shirts.

“Then let’s go” said Haru and dragged his friend with him.

 

In this moment Makoto was glad that a part of him was canine. He could help his friends and he could find Sousuke. He was sure. Walking through countless blocks and streets Makoto never wavered. He followed the hidden path of Sousuke, unknown to the two humans but clearly obvious to the dogboy.

After more than an hour, Makoto stopped. He observed his surroundings and his eyes stopped on one part of the park. There, on a bench beside a lake sat the black haired dogboy they were looking for.

Rin nearly shouted happily when Haru’s hand stopped him.

“Don’t.” Serious blue eyes met confused red ones.

“If he sees you now, he will escape.”

“Huh?! How do you know?”

“Dog books” replied Haru dryly and eyed the bench. “I hope you know it now.” And then Haru was shoving him forward while he and Makoto turned around.

Astonished Rin asked nervously, “w-where do you think you’re going?”

“We are out of place, this is a thing between you two, not us” answered Haru calmly.

“And I hope you d-do the right thing Rin…otherwise…” Makoto stopped talking and looked at the human. Rin moved backwards, out of fear.  
The look in the brunette dogboy’s eyes was the most dangerous and most terrifying thing he has ever seen, and this included Gou’s outbursts and his mom’s lectures.

Haru smirked and patted Makoto’s head. “Let’s go home.”  
Wagging cheerfully, the other followed his human and both left.

 

Rin rubbed his neck. So how should he start?

He walked hesitantly over to the bench. When he was a few steps away, Sousuke peeked over his shoulder and his eyes became big. How the hell did Rin find him?

Eying the redhead, he came to the conclusion that it was most likely Makoto who found him. His scenting ability was really good even among crossbreeds. Sighing, Sousuke looked at the lake and watched the little ducklings.

“Hey…” said Rin nervously and sat down beside him.

After a few minutes in silence, the redhead continued.

“I’m sorry” he whispered softly.

Sousuke peeked at him from the corner of his eyes but didn’t say a word.

“I know I fucked up and I’m really sorry Sousuke.” Rin was looking at the other, trying to find the right words. “I’m sorry that it took me so long to realize this. I…I want you to know that I see you more than “just” a pet or “just” a crossbreed. You’re my friend, my companion and I hope you can forgive me for being half-assed the last weeks. You mean a lot to me and I want that we both walk side by side, that we both laugh and have fun, and bicker about who cooks the next time. I’m sorry that I thought only about myself and my problems instead of thinking about you. And I’m sorry for hurting you. I want you by my side.”

The dogboy sighed.

“Listen. I’m sorry too, for being a grumpy douchebag. But…” Sousuke closed his eyes and continued, this was gonna be hard, “maybe it’s better if I go back.”  
It took his whole resolve and strength to say these words, but he did it, for Rin…

“What?!” Rin looked shocked at the other. “Why?!”

“I’m not good for you. I…make you sad and I hurt you. I’m difficult and aggressive and …broken…I don’t want that you have to deal with something like me. You deserve better.”

Sousuke opened his teal eyes and he showed the other the honesty in his words. He meant what he said. Rin deserved something better, a better crossbreed, a better friend.

“What are you saying?” The redhead was still looking at him. He was on the verge of tears. He couldn’t believe what Sousuke was saying.

“I don’t want this. I want you Sousuke, nobody else. Stay with me” he whispered while tears were streaming down his face.

Sousuke’s heart broke. He did it, again.

“I’m sorry Rin…” he softly answered and looked at his closed hands.

The redhead sniffed a few times and wiped away his tears. “I-I won’t let you leave me. You hear! I WONT LET YOU!” He shouted and hugged the other tightly.

Surprised the dogboy looked at the mop of red hair before his eyes and felt the firm grip of his human’s arms.

Sousuke smiled shyly. It was the first time Rin hugged him and…it felt so good…He patted the other’s head gently while little wet droplets were falling on his shoulder.

Rin was trying so hard…for him…for them…maybe…

The little spark of hope in his broken heart warmed his insides pleasantly. But he hesitated, afraid that this little pleasant feeling would disappear any moment.

“You’re really okay with me?” he asked shyly in a soft and vulnerable voice.

“Of course you big stupid idiot!” answered Rin and tightened the hug.

“Oy Rin! That’s enough! It hurts!” he said exaggeratedly but he enjoyed it, the feeling of someone holding onto him.

The redhead chuckled and loosened his arms. 

“But you have to promise me that we’ll talk about things…like your past…and when you have problems with something, you have to tell me asap, okay? We’ll do this together, you hear me?” he said softly.

Burrowing his nose in the soft red strains of hair, the dogboy hummed a quiet “yes”.

Both remained in this position for several minutes, then Rin stood up and grinned at the other.

“Let’s go home Sou.”

Sousuke returned the grin with a gentle smile. He really liked Rin…so much…

 

On their walk home they talked about the day, the incidents and how Rin found Sousuke. It was a comfortable atmosphere, better than the last weeks and both were feeling a wonderful warmth in their chest.

“Man, you had to see Makoto. He was really frightening”, shuddered the human when he remembered the look.

Sousuke chuckled. “Oh I can imagine that…”

“Huh?” Surprised he eyed the other.

The dogboy peeked at his human and smiled. “Makoto can be pretty dangerous if his friends are threatened.”

“Holy shit. I nearly pissed myself!”

Sousuke laughed loudly.

“H-H-Hey that’s no reason to laugh! You hear me!?” stuttered Rin embarrassed and kicked the other lightly, but seeing him laughing so heartily, he grinned widely and enjoyed the wonderful sound.

He knew that this wasn’t over. They had to work a lot on their communication and especially on Sousuke’s past. It wouldn’t be easy and he knew that there would be a lot of hardships, but they wanted to stay together and together, they would endure it, conquer it and grow. And that was the most important thing. 

It was the beginning of a new exciting path, for both of them. Rin was brimmed with confidence and could only dumbly grin, looking forward to new memories, new experiences and a new future with Sousuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my heart broke at the picture frame scene...and omg I don't know what possessed me in this moment...I read this chapter over and over again to improve it and god, I still have the feels :(  
> As additon: Rin's mind was and is still a mess okay? He has to deal with his new found interpretation of things he was used to think about the other way around, and it will take some time for him to really let it sink in BUT he finally understood the most important part so let's see how he deals with it if he is confronted with new situations ;)  
> And I really love Makoto and Haru in this chapter both are so good friends ~  
> If you have any questions, let me know I'll try to answer them as soon as possible ^.^  
> I hope it's a nice treat to have 2 chapters in a row ;)  
> And of course THANK YOU SO MUCH for the motivating comments they always help me to stay focused :D  
> Even if it was quite angsty and emotional, I hope you enjoyed the chapters :)


	8. First Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do Makoto and Sousuke react when someone unfamiliar enters their home?

“I told you Nagisa, it’s still too early,” said Haru angrily while eying the living room.

“But Haru-chaaaan I want to meet Mako-chan! You already kept him away for weeks! And you didn’t even send me a picture! Even Rin already visited!” exclaimed the blonde over the phone.

How did he know?

“Rin declined because his sister is coming, but I want to visit both of you guys! We didn’t see each other for 2 months!”

Haru sighed. 

He wanted to see Nagisa too, but…he knew his friend, and he could painfully imagine how he would react if he saw Makoto. He didn’t have to think about how the dogboy would be shocked and scared, being tackled by an unfamiliar blonde guy with ruby eyes. Additionally he was loud, and chattered so much that Makoto would be overwhelmed by him.

“Let me talk to him, okay? So he’s prepared when you visit.”

“Haru-chan you sound like you’re preparing him for a disaster?!”

Did Nagisa really expect an answer?

“…”

“Okay Haru-chan, call me when you’re ready.”

“Yes, bye.”

“Byyyyyeeee!” said Nagisa cheerfully and ended the call. With sparkling eyes he looked at the phone and thought, everybody likes surprises, right?  
A devilish smile was showing on his lips when he began to laugh loudly, stuffing his backpack full of things he knew the others would enjoy.

 

Haru sighed and put the cell phone back into his pocket. Green curious eyes were looking at him and he turned to the dogboy with a frown.

“This was one of my friends, he wants to meet you.”

“Oh…” Makoto tilted his head while his tail wagged slowly. “It’s okay, he can come if you want” replied Makoto shyly.

“Well…Nagisa is…different than Rin and I. He’s…” how should he describe it, “really active and…loud.”

Confused the other looked at his human, “eh…o-okay?”

“Nagisa is …Nagisa. “   
He was trying to find the right words to describe his friend.   
“He’s overwhelming. He speaks loudly, he bounces around, he loves sweets, he pestered me all the time in high school, he swims breaststroke and…he’s a really good friend of mine.”

“He sounds interesting” answered Makoto and chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about me. Haru’s friends are also my friends”, he added and blushed lightly.

Ruffling the brown hair Haru’s eyes shone with affection. “Then how about tomorrow? I’ll bake some cookies for us.”

“C-C-Cookies?!” Green sparkling eyes were looking at him with expectation and hope.

“Mhm.”

Wagging excitedly the dogboy thought about the future cookies and smiled happily. 

“But I have to buy some ingredients. Can you watch the house while I’m gone? It won’t take long.”

“S-Sure! Count on me!” exclaimed Makoto merrily. 

 

And so, for the first time Makoto was alone at home. Uneasiness came over him but he ignored it. Haru would be back in 10 minutes and he could easily manage 10 minutes alone, right? 

So he walked into the garden, accompanied by his plush cats Shiro, Kuro and Ao, and sniffed at the flowers. Smiling contently, he rolled on his back and enjoyed the softness of the grass and the beautiful clear blue sky.  
He thought about Sousuke and Rin, glad that both became reconciliated. The following day after his leave the other dogboy called him. The conversation wasn’t very long but it didn’t have to be. Makoto was relieved when he heard the familiar deep voice and a soft uttered “thank you”. And now it was an unannounced habit between the two of them to call each other once every week. Sometimes Makoto was the only one talking, telling the other about his week and new discoveries, at other times Sousuke talked about Rin and their growing friendship. 

Makoto chuckled. 

Sousuke had changed. He wasn’t the grumpy unapproachable aggressive dogboy anymore, now he was softer, talked more and from time to time you could see a smile on his face, even if it was small. He could see the other’s lightheartedness as clear as daylight. It was the first time seeing his friend like this but he enjoyed it.

Makoto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

He was filled with happiness for the first time in his life and for the first time he truly felt being alive. All thanks to his human Haru and his friends.

His bliss was interrupted when he heard the soft click of the front door. Confused he lifted his head and looked into the living room. It was only a few minutes after Haru left…maybe he forgot something? 

Listening closely he heard footsteps in the hallway but these weren’t Haru’s, they sounded different, smaller. Makoto tilted his head. 

So…somebody else was here?!

His eyes became big. 

What if it was a burglar? Or a murderer? Or… a monster?

Shivering, Makoto stared at the living room and saw a little shadow.

Oh my god he screamed inside and crouched on the ground. Debating with himself, he had two options: hiding or defending.   
Usually he would hide right away but it was Haru’s house, his property, what if somebody stole important things of his human that would make him sad and he didn’t want to see Haru sad.

He should defend his territory, after all a part of him was canine so it was natural, right?   
Still peeking at the living room, he could hear rustling and footsteps but couldn’t see the intruder. 

He had to be strong and courageous for Haru so he would be proud of him.  
Slowly straightening himself, he hid his plush cats by the flowers and whispered “you stay here, I have to defend Haru’s house!”   
Then he walked hesitantly into the living room, eying the source of disturbance. It seemed like the intruder was going upstairs, he could hear the creaking wooden floor. Following after him, he prayed internally that the stairs wouldn’t creak when he stepped on them and he was lucky. He sniffed at the air, smelling the other’s scent. It was sweet like strawberries and smelled like a male human. Strange mixture.

He peeked around the corner, inspecting the hallway. The door of Haru’s room was wide open and a shadow moved inside. Now or never.  
Taking all of his courage he walked over to the door and looked inside. The person seemed blonde, shorter than him and was rummaging in his backpack.

He could do it. For Haru!

His whole body shivered but he ignored it, and with a big leap he jumped at the person and barked nervously a few times. He closed his eyes out of fear. The intruder shrieked and looked at the shivering dogboy above him. 

Then something happened what Makoto didn’t expect even in his wildest fantasies. 

The person laughed loudly and hugged him. Confused he opened one of his eyes and was greeted with friendly ruby eyes and a big smile.

“Seems like you’re Mako-chan! I’m Nagisa, nice to meet you!” chirped the blonde cheerfully. Still flabbergasted Makoto released the other and sat on his bottom while tilting his head.

Noticing the other’s confusion Nagisa chuckled and ruffled his brown hair.

“Ne you really surprised me, and here I thought I would surprise you!”

“B-B-But Haru said you w-w-would come tomorrow…” replied the dogboy shyly.

“Oh Mako-chan, I thought I surprise Haru-chan and you, because sometimes he can be a big party pooper, ne?” The blonde winked and turned around.

“Here, I bought you sweets, even the one Haru-chan likes, little Saba fish gums.”

With big eyes Makoto looked at the pile of sweets and gaped.

“Do you like sweets?” asked the blonde friendly.

With wagging tail and sparkling eyes the dogboy answered, “I l-love sweets!”

“Then here you go Mako-chan! Choose what you want, I have plenty.”

Nagisa shoved the other to the pile of sweets and smiled.

Makoto studied the different varieties of sweets and snacks, whereas most of them he didn’t recognize. Cautiously taking one little package, he sniffed at it and looked at the little picture on its packing. Slowly opening the plastic, he took the round candy out and placed it carefully in his mouth. Sucking at it, he smiled broadly.

“So tasty!”

“Of course Mako-chan, I know the best candies!” exclaimed Nagisa smugly while lifting his index finger. He also took one of the sweets and ate it with a big grin. He already liked the dogboy. Somebody who loved sweets too could only be his friend.

 

Haru returned from his brief shopping trip and was greeted with loud laughing and cheerful chattering.   
Confused, he closed the front door and checked the living room.  
Nagisa and Makoto were sitting at the table, happily eating sweets while the blonde was telling stupid jokes. The dogboy was laughing, rolling on his side and holding his belly.

Haru asked himself how somebody could actually laugh about such lame jokes but…with a smile he watched the scene and enjoyed Makoto’s laugh. It was the prettiest sound in the world and no matter who or what caused it, he was grateful for it.

Slowly entering the living room, Makoto noticed him and jumped to his human. Wagging wildly he stood before him with a broad smile and said “welcome home.”

“I’m back” replied Haru softly and looked at Nagisa with sharp eyes. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked dryly.

“Awe Haru-chan! Welcome back! Don’t be so cold, I said I wanted to visit you!”

“Yeah, but not today, and not unannounced” he answered and put the shopping bag on the table.

“But everybody likes surprises Haru-chan! And it was a good surprise!”

“I don’t like surprises” announced the other flatly and ignored the pouting face of the blonde.

“Haru, Nagisa d-didn’t mean any harm, he even brought sweets, a-as gift!” intervened Makoto conciliatorily and showed him the fish shaped gums.

The human’s eyebrows twitched. Taking one of the candies, he ate it silently.

Makoto smiled broadly and continued, “He bought them especially for you.”

Haru hummed and inspected the blonde who was smirking devilishly.

“So Haru-chan is weak around Mako-chan” he said sweetly.

“Nagisa!” hissed Haru angrily.

The dogboy tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?” Big green eyes were moving from the blonde to his human and back. Why should Haru be weak? He was strong and brave!

Patting his shoulder, Nagisa answered “don’t worry Mako-chan, it means that Haru-chan really likes you” he said with a broad smile and winked.

Makoto spluttered and his eyes became even bigger. 

“Na…gi…sa…” growled Haru dangerously.

“Hey Haru-chan, don’t be angry, you know I’m right!” The blonde was hiding behind the kitchen counter, ready for escape if the other would chase him.

Haru sighed and looked at Makoto’s blushing face. Cute

Hearing these words, Makoto couldn’t stop himself. He was so happy knowing that Haru liked him, even if his friend said it, his human didn’t deny it so there has to be some truth, right?   
Wagging from side to side, he smiled happily at his human. Of course Haru couldn’t turn his eyes away, the sign before him was too endearing.   
Sparkling green eyes, a silly happy smile, bright blushed cheeks and a wild wagging tail, it was just too cute.

When Nagisa audibly cleared his throat Haru broke their gaze and turned his face to the other side. He could feel the warmth in his own cheeks and cursed Nagisa for being such a devil sometimes.

Peeking at the blonde he said flatly, “no cookies for Nagisa.”

Nagisa’s teasing face crumbled and was replaced by shock and horror.

“NOOOOOOO! I want Haru-chan’s cookies! Don’t be so mean, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! Forgive me!” He shouted exaggerated and tackled his friend. Rubbing his head against the other’s shoulder he whined “come on Haru-chan, please I really like your cookies!”

Ignoring the blonde and turning his face away, he crossed his arms. “No.”

Both were surprised when they heard a soft chuckle from the other side of the table. Makoto was snickering, holding his hand before his mouth to weaken the sound. The humans stared at the dogboy, amazed by the wonderful sound.   
Noticing the other’s gaze, Makoto looked at both of them tenderly and said, “You’re really good friends.”

Smiling broadly Nagisa tackled the dogboy and hugged him tightly, “of course Mako-chan, let’s be friends, too! You’re really cute!”

Blushing Makoto hid his face behind the other’s shoulder. He mumbled a soft “o-okay” and returned the hug hesitantly. It was new for him, the sudden body contact, but it wasn’t unpleasant, actually it felt pretty good. Nagisa was a nice and cheerful guy, he even bought sweets and he was glad to become friends with him.

Haru watched the two and couldn’t suppress the little spark of jealousy. Of course he knew that Nagisa hugged everyone without exception but still…

“Let Makoto breath” he said grumpily.

Turning around the blonde observed the other and snickered. “Don’t be jealous Haru-chan, I know that Mako-chan is your special one.”

Flustered, Haru turned his head away and pouted.

“Ne Mako-chan, can I touch your ears?” asked the blonde innocently. With big eyes Haru returned his gaze to the two.

“Eh…” embarrassed Makoto looked at Haru for help. The other nodded slightly. It was only his ears, nothing special so it was okay, right?

“O-Okay…” answered the dogboy slowly and closed his eyes tightly.

“Yay!” cautiously Nagisa touched the hairy dog ears and gaped. “They are so soft and fluffy” he whispered. He began to outline the shape with his fingertips, touching the soft skin with care and lifted one of the floppy ears. “So cute…”

Makoto froze, he wasn’t used to being touched at his ears and it felt strange. Uneasiness filled him with each passing second.

“Nagisa that’s enough” interrupted Haru with crossed arms. He noticed the strained expression on Makoto’s face and worried about him.

The blonde immediately stopped and took a few steps backwards. With a broad smile, he looked at the dogboy and chirped “thank you!”

“I-I-It’s okay” stuttered the brunette and smiled at the other.

 

The rest of the afternoon the three were playing card games, Nagisa drilled Haru with questions about Olympics, his training and how he met Makoto. Reluctantly answering, Haru peeked at the dogboy from time to time to see his content smile and gentle eyes.

Before Nagisa left, he made the two promise that they would meet him again soon and that Haru would bring cookies with him next time. With wild waving and a cheerful good bye the blonde left.

 

Haru sighed relieved. This was exhausting.

“Nagisa is really nice” said Makoto softly and smiled at his human. 

“Mhm…” hummed the other and both went into the kitchen. 

“You changed” he stated while taking his apron.

Confused the dogboy looked at him. “I did?”

“Mhm, your anxiety is getting better” he replied contentedly while preparing the ingredients.

Makoto thought for a second and then smiled at him broadly with wagging tail. “Yes, you’re right!” Cheerfully he watched his human making the cookie dough.  
With proud filled eyes Haru looked at the brunette and smiled.

Maybe now he could calm down, he thought while adding the chocolate chips to the dough.

 

But Haru couldn’t calm down. The thought of Nagisa being the first one touching Makoto’s ears was hunting him. He restlessly flipped the pages in his magazine without reading anything of its content.  
Oblivious to the others distress Makoto was looking at the stove, waiting for the cookies to be ready.  
Finally after being overwhelmed by need, Haru tossed the magazine aside and said firmly, “Makoto, come here.”

Confused by the sudden serious voice the dogboy trotted to his human into the living room and waited for his continuation.

“Let me touch your ears.”

Makoto tilted his head, still confused he answered shyly “okay.” 

Then he closed his eyes and waited for the other’s touch.

Cautiously with trembling fingers, Haru touched the fluffy fur of the ears. It was really soft, and warm. Stroking the soft ears tenderly, Haru’s eyes smiled.

Makoto slightly shivered. It felt so different when Nagisa touched him and now…his skin was burning where Haru’s fingers touched him and he felt the blush creeping up his cheeks. It was pleasant, wonderful, he wanted more…  
Enjoying the soft massage he let his head hang contently. 

Encouraged by Makoto’s reaction, Haru began to scratch softly the back of the other’s ears, because he had read in one of those dog books that there was a pleasure point.

The dogboy couldn’t suppress a moan, Haru’s hands felt sooooo good. Without even noticing, he lay down and snuggled his head into his human’s lap. 

Haru, surprised by his action, held his breath for a few moments but enjoyed the new position. Makoto was so cute, with his soft brown mop of hair, his floppy ears and the wagging tail. Moving his hands downwards, he massaged his scalp gently, making sure that he didn’t leave one spot out. The little moans which escaped Makoto from time to time only encouraged him to intensify his actions. Stroking from the top of his head down to the neck, he noticed the dogboy’s deep and regular breaths.

Wait did he…

“Makoto?” asked Haru in a whisper, but there was no reaction. 

He chuckled softly. Makoto fell asleep. 

Looking at the angelic expression on the other’s face, he stroked the strains of hair tenderly. Then he noticed the scent coming from the kitchen. 

Right, he almost forgot the cookies in the stove. Looking around, he grabbed a cushion and replaced his lap carefully with it.

Silently but hurriedly walking into the kitchen, he checked the stove and saw that the cookies were ready. He got the baking sheet out of the heat and placed it on the wooden board. Pleased with the result he inspected the cookies. Hopefully Makoto would like them.   
Smiling to himself, Haru watched the sleeping dogboy from the kitchen while placing the cookies in a cookie jar.

 

 

 

The first days after their reunion were a little bit awkward and unsure but Rin and Sousuke went back to normal. Their morning runs gave them a comfortable routine, followed by eating breakfast and bickering about the cooking duty.   
The main fact that changed was that now they talked more about things that bothered them and slowly but surely Sousuke’s trust grew. At times it was while eating together or out of the blue that Rin and Sousuke spoke of forgotten memories or painful experiences.   
Both learned more about each other and if from time to time it was too much for one, they would interrupt their conversation to watch TV or play videogames. All in all, the pleasant atmosphere between the two of them returned and both were more than grateful for it.

The two were watching a new action movie when Rin’s cell phone began to ring.

“Oh hello Nagisa…Fine fine and you?...Mhm…We already visited Haru and Makoto…No sorry Gou is coming over…No…Yeah…Yeah I’m sorry dude…Mhm okay…see you!”

Rin sighed. Nagisa could be demanding and he really was sorry for not seeing him today but…Nagisa AND Gou together…that was too much for him, letting Sousuke aside…

Rubbing his neck he returned to the living room where Sousuke was still sitting on the couch, waiting for him so they could continue watching the movie. Peeking at the redhead, he noticed the frown on his forehead.

“That was one of my friends, he wants to visit us but I declined. Gou is coming over and that’s already enough.”

The dogboy faced the TV again and started the movie but by mentioning the previous name he was already lost in his thoughts.  
Rin’s sister was coming today. He was somehow nervous because she was an important family member and that’s why he had to make a good impression. Additionally he didn’t know how she regarded crossbreeds and this bothered him. What if she hated him from the beginning, because he was…

He shook his head. 

It was useless to think about these things now, he couldn’t predict her attitude but she was Rin’s sister so maybe she would be similar to her brother. Maybe they would become friends, too.

“Hey Sousuke, when you meet my sister…eh…don’t be surprised if she wants to touch your muscles, okay?” said the redhead awkwardly while gluing his eyes on the TV.

Lifting one of his eyebrows, Sousuke looked at the other confused. “Why would she do that?”

“Oh, eh…well…she has kinda…a muscle fetish…” he replied while rubbing his neck.

“Muscle fetish?” What the hell was a muscle fetish? Did this even exist?

“She was the manager of Haru’s swim team in high school and she well…enjoyed seeing half naked muscled boys…even now she sometimes falls back into bad habits. But don't worry I'll keep an eye on her.”

Still kind of confused Sousuke nodded. 

Sighing relieved Rin thanked the other and both began watching TV again.

 

“Yo Sousuke, I have to go to the convenience store to buy a cake for her.” Slipping into his shoes Rin looked over his shoulder, eyeing the dogboy behind him.

“Okay” replied the other and within a minute Rin dashed out of the house.

Scratching his ears Sousuke trotted back to the living room and sat down on the couch.

Man, he wasn’t used to being nervous but today it kinda got him. 

Right, he had to change…

Standing up he walked upstairs into his room, searching though his closet for the right outfit. Taking a pair of black tight jeans and a white shirt, he changed and inspected his reflection in the mirror. It was simple but it matched him. On the other side he didn’t want to overdress himself, otherwise she would notice that he tried to impress her.

Opening his door, he heard some footsteps from downstairs. But Rin wasn’t that fast, even if he ran…confused and wary of the intruder, he slowly peeked around the corner of the hallway but he couldn’t see anything. 

Maybe it was a burglar but only a dumb one would come into a house with a dogboy. Softly taking every step with care, he listened to the clacking of shoes on the floor. He could smell something nice, maybe a perfume, and a hint of another dog. Strange.

But he didn’t have to fear anything because it wasn’t the first time he defended his house from intruders, and he knew his presence and built. Straightening himself and slowly approaching the shadow, he began to glare and shouted in a growl.

“Hey, who are you?”

Surprised the person turned around with a shriek and he saw that it was a girl. She had long red hair and red eyes, the same as Rin…

Fuck…

Stopping the glare he already regretted his intimidating appearance.

With big eyes, the girl studied him closely from head to toe.

Awkwardly the dogboy rubbed his neck and mumbled, “eh sorry…well…I think you’re Gou-san, right?”

Peeking at the girl, he saw her still big eyes and no intention of answering so he continued.

“Eh…Rin went to the convenience store. How…about you wait for him in the living room?”

Bursting out of her frozen state, Gou ogled the other with sparkling eyes.

“So…you’re Sousuke-kun I guess? Nice to meet you, I’m Kou.”

Puzzled Sousuke looked at the girl, he thought her name was Gou…well whatever…

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Sousuke.” He greeted her with a hopeful friendly voice and guided her into the living room.   
He served her fresh brewed tea and some little snacks. Pleased by his manner, Gou said merrily, “my brother didn’t tell me that you were THIS handsome.” 

Embarrassed Sousuke turned his face to the other side. He couldn’t handle compliments. 

Satisfied with his reaction, she took her teacup and added “and cute too.”

The dogboy spluttered. When he peeked at the girl on the couch, he could see a teasing smile.

Shit they are really family he thought.

 

Both were interrupted when Rin stomped into the house after slamming the front door.

“Stupid cashier! Stupid old hag who thought she could snatch away the last cake!” he cursed while entering the living room.

When he saw his sister inside, he stopped his actions instantly.

“Oh…hello…Gou…” he said hesitantly.

“Hello Brother, nice to see you too. It’s been a while but it seems like you’re doing fine.”

“Man you sound like we didn’t see each other in years” he sighed and walked over to the others. He placed carefully the package on the coffee table and set the table. Finally slumping down beside her, he hugged her gently.

“Nice to see you again Gou” he said softly.

“Mhm.” She hummed happily as response.

“So, why are you so early?” 

“Oh well I thought I surprise you!” exclaimed Gou merrily.

“Well you got me. Did you introduce each other?” Rin was eying nervously his sister and then Sousuke.

“Yes, Sousuke-kun is quite the gentleman”, she giggled while ogling the black haired dogboy.

Relief was washing over him. In this moment he knew that Gou was a really nice person. He was grateful to her for not telling that he almost attacked her. Well, almost…

“Ne Sousuke-kun, can you eh…well…lift your shirt a little bit?” asked the girl shyly.

“GOU!” lectured Rin his sister scandalized.

Sousuke only shrugged and showed her his belly, there wasn’t really much to see, so where was the harm?

Red sparkling eyes inspected his bare skin, marveling the ripped abs. 

“Brother” she whispered while still watching Sousuke flexing his muscles, “you have a really good taste, I’m proud of you”, and patted his shoulder.

Looking at her with a frown and embarrassment in his eyes he replied irritated, “can you finally stop please? And Sousuke, it’s enough.”

Noticing the other’s embarrassment Sousuke smirked and said “I have nothing to hide Rin”, lifting the shirt a little bit higher, Gou shrieked happily. Then he finally dropped it and grinned. 

While Gou was disappointed Rin’s cheeks were colored in a bright red.

Hiding his blush, the redhead cleared his throat. “Can we finally eat the cake?!”

“I thought you didn’t get one”, replied his sister surprised.

“Well…” he presented proudly the little package with a strawberry cream cake inside, “I fought for it and won fair and square.”

“You ran before the old lady could reach it and snatched it away, right?” said the girl dead panned.

Rin spluttered. “W-Wait! That’s not how it was!”

The black dogboy leaned back in his seat and said, “I like your sister Rin. I think we will be friends in no time.”

Surprised both looked at him with big eyes. 

With a little blush on her cheeks, Gou answered “I like you too Sousuke-kun. You can deal with my brother’s shark like attitude and bad mouth”, she winked at him knowingly and giggled.

Sousuke laughed loudly.

“G-Gou I’m not that bad for fuck’s sake! And I don’t act like a shark!”

“Yeah, and you’re NOT reading my shojo mangas” she replied dryly and crossed her arms.

Blushing, Rin stammered “t-t-that’s right, I only read it once…for reference! Okay?!”

Smiling, Sousuke watched the bickering between the siblings. It was adorable how much they cared about each other. 

“Now, now, let’s eat the cake”, the dogboy interfered and placed a slice of cake on each plate.

Stopping their quarrel both picked up their forks with red faces and began eating. Enjoying the fresh sweet taste of the strawberries and the milky vanilla crème, Sousuke looked at the brother and sister and smiled internally. 

It would have been great to have a family. He imagined how it would be, having siblings you could play with and fight over stupid things…but now wasn’t the time, so he stopped his sad thoughts and peeked again at the humans.   
Maybe they could become his family. And this idea struck him like lightning, electrifying his body and mind. It was such a wonderful and amazing thought that he couldn’t suppress his goofy grin. 

“What are you grinning about?” asked Rin curiously.

Feeling caught, he immediately tried to return to his usual serious face. While hiding his mouth behind his hand, he asked back “what do you mean?”

“Dude, you were seriously grinning like an idiot the previous moment.”

Sousuke turned his gaze away and rubbed his head awkwardly.

“Sousuke, you remember our promise right?” said Rin with serious eyes.

Defeated, he looked at his lap. “I…thought it would be nice…to…become family”, he said softly.

The siblings gaped. Nobody expected this. Rin was speechless and with big eyes he looked at the flustered dogboy. That was so…cute…and…deep…

“O-Of course we are family Sousuke-kun!” exclaimed Gou merrily and hugged the big black haired dogboy.

This time he was speechless.

Being accepted by both siblings like that without any hard feelings was…unbelievable…

He shyly hugged the girl back and closed his eyes. He really was grateful…so grateful…

Watching the whole scene Rin rubbed his nose and sniffed a few times. He was moved how affectionate both were and how much Sousuke enjoyed it. There were a lot of surprises about the black haired dogboy and he was excited to see more of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw this chapter was so much fun to write, especially the interaction with Nagisa and Gou ^_^ After the previous angsty and emotional ones I thought it was time for something light and funny ;)  
> Gou and Rin are so hilarious together, and Nagisa being the little plotter he is, I'll integrate them a little bit more (｡´∀｀)ﾉ  
> I hope you liked it too :)  
> And thanks for the motivating comments and kudos! <3 <3 <3 They always make my day!


	9. First Sleepless Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter ^_^" It took me a while to write it, sorry for that _:(´□`」 ∠):_  
> Thank you for your positive feedback, you're all so awesome ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ and thanks for staying with this story I hope you like the new chapter!  
> Let me know what you think of it or if you have any whishes or ideas I should explore otherwise I'll write down every idea that hits me ;)

“I think it’s time that you get your own room”, said Haru calmly while eating a bite of mackerel.

Makoto dropped his chopsticks out of shock. Trying to cover his disappointment, he erected his dropped ears again and smiled at Haru broadly.

“T-That’s awesome!” exclaimed the dogboy cheerfully. 

Haru peeked at him and hummed. He observed that the other’s smile wasn’t as broad as usual, and his eyes weren’t half-closed, but he didn’t say anything and began eating again.

Makoto was relieved that his human didn’t notice anything. He had to be happy, because Haru was giving him his own room. Staring at his plate, he had lost his appetite, but the other had cooked for him, he had to be grateful for that so he should eat.  
Peeking at his human who was busy with his own mackerel, he took his chopsticks with trembling hands. Covering one of his hands with the other, Makoto closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. 

It was okay, he knew the time would come, he should be happy. 

Opening his eyes again, he smiled while eating his breakfast.

 

Almost the whole day, both were busy with preparing the room. While sorting his things out, Haru stuffed several cardboxes full of old books and toys. He had moved these things to the next room when he had renovated his own, but now it was Makoto’s and he had to clean it thoroughly. 

Over the weeks he almost forgot that the dogboy needed his own promised place because it was so comfortable sleeping in the same room and seeing him when he woke up. It was nice and he enjoyed it but he didn’t want to be selfish, he wanted to give Makoto more privacy, everybody needed time for themselves, right? And with the situation now, it wasn’t really possible.

Haru was wiping the sweat off his forehead. Good thing Makoto was strong and could easily carry the cardboxes to the storeroom. He had to admit that the dogboy looked good in this tight tank top, little sweat droplets running down his neck. His eyes followed mesmerized. One droplet from the top of his eyebrows was running down his cheek, staying there for a moment till it dripped on the other’s chest, leaving a small wet spot.

Haru gulped. Somehow he felt hot, and it wasn’t because of the work or weather, and seeing the other’s shy smile didn’t help either. He closed his eyes for a moment and said dryly,

“Break time.”

And in an instant he was running downstairs, preparing cold water with ice cubes. He downed the glass in one swig and was reminded that this wasn’t the brightest idea. Rubbing his forehead and frowning, he tried to ease the feeling of freezing. Anyway he felt better, at least the hotness vanished. Taking one glass with him, he handed it over to the dogboy who was standing in the doorway.  
Makoto gratefully took it and downed the glass in a few gulps. Sighing contently, he gave the glass back and said cheerfully,

“We are almost finished, right?”

Haru took the glass and put it beside the other on the counter. “Mhm”, he hummed as response.

Makoto thought again about his first night alone and became nervous. Fumbling with his tail, he tried to break off these negative feelings. When he noticed his action he stopped immediately and peeked at his human, making sure that the other hasn’t seen it. It was one of his quirks when he was nervous or anxious and it embarrassed him because most of the time he did it unintentionally.  
Not paying attention to the other Haru was concerned with his own state of mind. 

With a forced smile Makoto asked shyly, “Shall we continue?”

Peeking at the dogboy, Haru nodded once and went upstairs.

 

The sun was setting when both finished their task. Now the room was clean, empty shelves were waiting for their new content and a bed with freshly changed sheets was standing beside one of the walls. It looked nice, comfortable, cozy, but Makoto couldn’t shake his nervousness away. This would be his room, and from now on he would sleep alone in this bed before him. A slight shiver ran over his spine. 

In the past he slept most of the time alone, it was nothing new, there was even a time when he preferred it but now…Thinking about it filled him with uneasiness and anxiety.

Haru noticed the other’s anxiety but he thought that it had something to do with the change by itself, not with the act of sleeping alone. 

So when bedtime arrived, Makoto took his plush cats and trotted into his new room. He looked around, searching for his usual nightlight. His human had placed it on the other side of the bed so most of the inside was illuminated.  
Relieved by the familiar light, Makoto crawled under his blanket and hugged Shiro tightly.  
His mind was still running eagerly without any sign of sleepiness. Left by himself, he tried to sugar coat his new situation.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad sleeping alone again, it was normal and appropriate. Now Haru had his rest from him. Sometimes he worried about these things, getting on Haru’s nerves, being too clingy, spending too much time with him.  
Some of his previous owners hated him for wanting to spend every possible second with them and when it escalated they would shout at him, insult him and finally lock him up in another room. Then he would bang on the door, full of desperation and fear of being abandoned and being thrown into darkness.

A shiver ran over Makoto’s spine. He turned on his side and sniffed a few times. These had been dark times. He hated being locked up without any possibility of escape. He didn’t want to be left alone, he wanted to be with his human, was that so bad? It only meant that he really liked him, was that wrong?

Closing his eyes, the dogboy stroked Shiro’s soft fur.  
It was better this way. Now his human would be relieved to be by himself again. Next morning Haru would be happy, and he would be happy because Haru was happy, and that was enough. 

Makoto tried to sleep but couldn’t find it. He counted sheep, he imagined colorful fantasy worlds, he even talked with his plush cats about his day, but nothing helped. Staring on the white ceiling, he blinked several times, trying to see if his eyelids were already heavy. 

Nothing.

So he inspected his room again, while patting the little head of his plush cat. 

There were so many empty shelves. Would he be able to fill these? But with what? He never desired any possessions. Shiro was the first thing he ever possessed. He rescued the plush cat from being trashed when his previous owner didn’t look. After that he hid Shiro in his worn shirts so nobody would notice him, and it worked.  
When the other human returned him to the animal shelter, he took the white plush cat with him and nobody said anything to him. He felt kind of bad, doing something his owner didn’t know of, but on the other side he tried to throw Shiro away, so that meant that he didn’t care about what was happening to him.  
He was happy that he had him all this time, he helped him in bad times and protected him from dark nights. An other owner tried to take his plush cat away but thanks to his strength he could hold onto him and the other got tired of trying. Every second he feared that his fur might tear but he was lucky. He and Shiro really had been through a lot and now his white plush cat had more friends. Patting the nemu nekos at his headboard, he smiled. He also had more friends, like Haru, Sousuke, Rin and Nagisa…

Tired, he turned on his side again. He didn’t know what time it was but it felt like it was pretty late and if he wouldn’t sleep soon the next day would be really exhausting. He closed his eyes firmly. Maybe if he talked to his body, he would fall asleep so he demanded his body several times that he had to sleep, now.

 

Drowsily Makoto blinked a few times. He could see the sunlight shining through his window shade and heard the first morning chirping of the birds outside. Exhausted he laid on his back. He didn’t sleep at all last night, although he tried and tried but he couldn’t find peace. It annoyed him, he wasn’t a little baby, he was a grown up now, he should be able to sleep alone just fine, but…  
Dropping his ears he sighed.  
Maybe the problem would solve itself over time. Maybe he needed more nights and then everything would be fine.

 

But even after three days, Makoto still didn’t sleep well. Sometimes he snoozed for several hours, but it didn’t replace his normal sleep. With each passing day, he felt more and more exhausted and sometimes when Haru and he were sitting in the living room, he dozed off. These were good times because it was the only thing that came close to sleep and it refreshed him a little bit. Haru’s presence made the big difference.  
Nevertheless Makoto was sleep deprived and he couldn’t do a thing against it. From time to time he thought about asking Haru to sleep in his room again but every time when his resolve almost broke, he reminded himself that his human needed time away from him, and this was at night. 

Haru noticed Makoto’s growing exhaustion and tried to find its source: He was eating normally, he was cheerful as usual and he was talkative like every other day. The only thing that changed was that sometimes he would look at him drowsily and out of nowhere he fell asleep. It irritated and worried him. 

Every day the dogboy went to bed at same time so this wasn’t about being up too late, and every morning Haru woke him up after his bath, so waking up too early wasn’t the reason either. Maybe Makoto had problems with sleeping, but if this were the case he would tell him, wouldn’t he? So Haru waited patiently for the dogboy to talk to him but…he didn’t.

Frowning, Haru sat on the table and picked at his food. Peeking at the other, he noticed the growing dark circles and laid his chopsticks down. This was enough. If he didn’t want to talk, he would confront him.

“Makoto”, he said in a serious voice.

Startled Makoto replied, “W-what is it Haru?”

“Are you sleeping well?” Blue eyes were inspecting him closely. 

“Eh…well…” He didn’t want to lie but he didn’t want to tell the truth either, so what could he do? Nervously scratching his cheek he searched for the right words.

“Makoto.” There was no room for evasion. 

Dropping his ears, the dogboy fumbled with the end of his tail. Staring at his lap, he answered hesitantly,

“I didn’t s-sleep well last night…”

“Only last night?” asked Haru and crossed his arms.

“Eh…no…”

“Since when?”

Makoto bit his lip. “Since…I sleep in…my room.” 

That would make three nights, counted Haru in his mind and sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked worriedly while studying the dogboy.

“Because…” he dropped his ears even lower, “I didn’t want to disturb you. I k-know that you need time by yourself and that I can be pretty annoying…I really didn’t want to get on your nerves and I thought that I would adapt to it…I mean, I always slept alone in the past till I came back to the animal shelter and I don’t know why I have problems now…”  
Makoto’s eyes watered. He didn’t want to cause trouble. If he could only fix this…

“It’s okay” replied Haru calmly. “Firstly, you don’t get on my nerves and you don’t annoy me. I like spending time with you and I didn’t mind when you slept in my room. I thought you deserved your own space for yourself, a place where you can be on your own without me disturbing you. I guess we both tried to be considerate and instead made things difficult.”

Haru shrugged and looked at the dogboy with gentle eyes. Makoto was flabbergasted.

“You can sleep in my room if you want, and if you want to use your own, it’s also fine. It’s your choice. You have all the time you want.”

With big teary eyes he looked as his human, asking himself for the thousandth time how he could be so lucky to have Haru. Sniffing a few times, he rubbed his nose and said softly,

“I want to sleep in you room…if it’s okay.”

“Okay” replied Haru simply and ruffled the brown mop of hair. “Now let’s eat.”

With abroad smile on his face, Makoto grabbed his chopsticks and took a big bite out of his piece of mackerel.

 

“I’ll set the futon, meanwhile you can change” mumbled Haru while taking the futon out of the closet.

With wagging tail Makoto went into his room, changed and happily grabbed his plush cats. When he returned his familiar futon was already in his usual place and Haru was sitting on his own bed eying the dogboy. Grinning, he carefully placed the plush cats at the side of the blanket and bounced on the futon. He crawled under the blanket and adjusted the cats like always. 

With a content smile he chirped a cheerful “Good night Haru!” and within a few moments he was already asleep.  
Haru looked at him with a smile while shaking his head. Things could be so easy.

 

 

It was his first sleepless night since he lived with Rin. Sousuke was turning from side to side, trying to find his desired night’s rest.  
Glaring at the ceiling, he asked himself how on fucking earth crickets could be this loud that he heard their chirring from his own room on the first floor. First thing he did was closing the window of course, but it didn’t help. Then he tried to press a pillow over his ears but that didn’t help either. After that he tried shout out of the window to frighten the crickets but a few moments later they chirred again.  
Sometimes he cursed his good ears, and this was one of these times. Maybe these nuisances were sitting on the tree…But could they even fly, or jump high enough? Shit that didn’t even matter, he wanted to sleep and these little bugs stopped him from doing that. Frustrated, he pressed two pillows over his head and groaned. This was going be a long long night.

 

Rin was started and jumped a few steps away when he saw Sousuke’s face the next morning.

“Sousuke, what’s wrong?” he asked worriedly while eyeing the dark circles under his eyes, the deepened frown on his forehead and the hanging corners of his mouth.

“Couldn’t sleep. Since when do we have crickets in the front yard?” replied the dogboy while scratching his ears and yawning.

“Crickets?” Rin touched his chin and thought hard. “Not that I would know of it. Was that the reason?”

Sousuke rubbed his head awkwardly, “yeah these stupid bugs were so loud that I couldn’t get my eyes shut.”

“Hm…Did you close the window?” asked the redhead innocently.

The other crossed his arms and his frown deepened. “Of course, what do you think of me?!”

“Hey, hey, calm down big guy, I’m only asking. The question is what can we do against the crickets?”

Both were thoughtfully closing their eyes and cerebrated together. After several minutes they came to the conclusion to ask the internet.

There were many articles and forums about this topic but not everything was constructive. On the one side Rin didn’t want to use pesticide and didn’t want to cut the lawn again. On the other side Sousuke couldn’t use earplugs and didn’t want to try out the firecracker theory (he didn’t want to become deaf thanks to some redhead, whereas the other was totally excited about this idea).  
That only left one option: water.

So in the afternoon Rin and Sousuke stood in the front yard with water hoses in their hands while both were only wearing shorts. Fortunately the sun was shining brightly and a soft breeze blew through the leaves of the trees. The weather was lovely, not too cold and not too warm.

“The article said that you have to spray the water over the grass!” shouted Rin while turning the water stream on and swinging from left to right. Sousuke nodded and splashed on the cherry trees in front of his window. Hopefully this would chase these stupid bugs away otherwise he would go crazy. 

After almost an hour the whole front yard was drenched. When Rin got bored of this whole thing, he let his gaze wander. Seeing Sousuke with his naked upper half was a nice treat and so the redhead enjoyed the view of the black haired dogboy, when he hit on an idea. Peeking at the water hose, he grinned viciously. Whistling a few tones, he walked slowly over to the other while closely observing him.  
Sousuke was engrossed in splashing water on every bark of a tree.  
Rin had to suppress a snicker. This was gonna be so awesome! And he didn’t even reckon it!

He abruptly turned around and pointed the water hose directly at the dogboy. The other shrieked and looked confused around. Sousuke was drenched: His black fur was dripping down water droplets and his shorts were soaked, in short he looked like a drowned rat. He shook himself and ran his fingers through his wet hair. When his eyes fell on the redhead, he growled. 

“What the fuck Rin?!”

Rin only snickered gloatingly. He was pleased with his result and couldn’t suppress his smug grin. He crossed his arms in a victorious manner and challenged the other with his red eyes but he didn’t consider that the dogboy was a very competitive person.

Revenge was the only thing Sousuke could think of right now.

Clenching his own water hose, he dashed after the other splashing water in every possible direction. He hit the redhead several times and every time when he did, he grinned broadly, but it wasn’t enough, he had to be drenched from head to toe. Meanwhile his human was shouting rapidly that he should stop, and that he would make a peace offering but Sousuke didn’t listen, he had one goal and he would achieve it. Seeing the other’s determination in his teal eyes, Rin started his counterattack with a toothy grin. He wanted a fight? Then he could have it!

 

After their battle Rin and Sousuke were lying on the soft grass, out of breath and dripping wet. The water was already turned off but even the leaves of the cherry trees let little droplets fall. When both looked at each other, they began to laugh loudly. It was too hilarious.

“Man this was really fun” said Rin between his laughing and wiped away some tears.

“Yeah, I totally beat you” replied Sousuke while holding his belly. He laughed so much that his muscles already ached.

“Not at all! It was a draw!” exclaimed the other scandalized.

“If you say so.” The dogboy grinned broadly while peeking at his human.

“Tch.” Annoyed Rin turned his head to the other side and pouted.

Sousuke was looking at the bright blue sky, following some passing clouds with his eyes. After a few moments, he mumbled thoughtfully, “Hopefully it pays off…”

His human turned his gaze to the sky and hummed. Hopefully.

 

When Sousuke went to bed, he paused for a few seconds to check his surroundings. Closing his eyes, he listened closely to the familiar sounds. No crickets, hell yeah.   
Contentedly covering himself with his blanket, he sighed and fell asleep. In the middle of the night he woke up. Blinking a few times, he turned on his other side and groaned. 

NOT AGAIN. 

Hearing the chirring of the crickets he took a pillow and threw it at the window full of frustration. Fuck this shit he cursed inside and pressed another pillow on his ears.

Next morning when both were jogging, Sousuke told Rin about their failure. 

Out of the blue, the redhead asked, “Wanna sleep in the living room? Or in my room? Maybe it’s only a phase and after a few days you can return to your own room.”

Actually this wasn’t a bad idea, thought Sousuke and nodded. He could at least try to get some sleep somewhere else.

 

Setting his bed on the couch, Sousuke slumped down and sighed. This was going to hurt in the morning. He was too tall for the lying surface so he had to curl himself up to fit, and this meant muscle tension and muscle ache. Nevertheless it was better than a sleepless night. Lying down on his pillow, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Silence. Good.

After a few minutes when he was already drowsy and almost asleep he heard it, again. He couldn’t believe it. Maybe it was his imagination. Standing up he walked over to the large windows and looked outside. He could see the front yard with its cherry trees, casting big shadows over the ground and the night sky illuminated by stars. 

“Shit”, he whispered and face palmed himself. Of course.

His room was above the living room, at the exact same spot and of course he would hear the crickets this way, even louder because it was the main floor. He groaned frustrated. This had to stop, he wanted to sleep at all costs. His grumpiness reached a new high when he was sleep deprived and he didn’t want to do this to Rin.  
Sighing he grabbed his pillow and blanket and went upstairs. There was no other way, and it wasn’t a big deal right? Scratching his head he hesitantly knocked on the redhead’s door.

“Yeah, what’s up Sousuke? Come in.” He heard from inside and opened the door slowly.

Rin was lying in his bed, reading a book about nutritional awareness for swimming professionals. 

Awkwardly rubbing his neck, the dogboy replied, “I can hear the freaking bugs in the living room, too. I noticed that’s even louder than in my room because it’s right next to the front yard.”

Lifting one of his eyebrows in question his human thought about it for a minute and sighed.  
“Shit, right... your room is right above the living room, I forgot this, sorry.” 

Rin jumped out of his bed and rubbed his head. “So where do you wanna sleep? Here?”

Embarrassed Sousuke turned his face away and nodded once.

“Okay, let me check if I have the futon here in my closet or in the other room, okay?” 

So the redhead rummaged through his closet while the dogboy was watching him.

That was…unexpectedly easy, thought Sousuke. He reckoned that maybe the other would tease him or let him sleep in another room but without any further comment he accepted it. Rin was really too nice.

Finally extracting the spare futon out of his other stuff, Rin placed it beside his bed.

“Is this okay with you? You can have another blanket or pillow, if you need.” He explained and waited for a response.

Sousuke shook his head. “No, it’s fine, that’s enough.” He crawled drowsily under the blanket while the other lay on his bed again.

“Good night Sou” said the redhead softly and turned the lights off.

“Good night Rin”, replied the dogboy and listened to his surroundings. 

Silence. Finally.

He sighed contentedly and tucked himself up. It was new to him to sleep with his human in the same room. It never happened before. In the past he was sleeping in the living room or the storage room but every time alone. He had to admit that it was kinda nice, relaxing, listening to the regular soft breathing and the occasionally movements of his human.  
Something hit him. A truth he knew and felt but didn’t completely internalize and finally it reached his core. He wasn’t alone anymore.  
It sounded stupid to him that after so many weeks with Rin he would still think about this but it was a big part of him. He was alone for a very long time, and even if he had a new owner and was really happy with him, he still fell back into old habits. And it was so dumb that in this moment, when he laid on the futon beside Rin’s bed at night he finally understood it.  
He had to laugh at himself. God, he really was dense in this aspect.   
Listening to Rin’s soft breaths, he closed his eyes again and smiled.

 

When Rin’s alarm rang, he lazily hit it. Yawning a few times, he blinked and looked around his room. His eyes fell on the bundle of blankets, black hair and ears. Right, Sousuke slept with him because of the crickets. Hearing a soft groan from his side, he smiled. Seeing the dogboy as the first thing in the morning wasn’t that bad, it felt actually really good. The redhead rubbed his head and checked the time. Then he left his bed and tiptoed around the futon. 

In a soft voice, he said, “Hey Sousuke, wake up. It’s time for our morning run.”

His reply was another groan while he hid his face in his pillow. Rin chuckled.

“Come on big guy, I thought you stopped being a morning grouch.” He teasingly poked the blanket.

Sousuke turned around and two teal eyes were sleepily looking at him.

“Morning”, mumbled the dogboy and rubbed his eyes.

“Morning, slept well?” asked Rin while looking for his sports outfit.

Sousuke nodded and yawned. He hadn’t slept this well in a long time. Scratching his ears, he peeked at his human who was changing unabashedly. Man, Rin had a nice body. You could see that he worked out every day. Realizing his stare, he shook his head and rubbed his face. What the hell was he thinking?

Embarrassed he looked at his lap. He had to thank Rin for this.

Standing up, he rubbed his neck awkwardly and mumbled softly, “thanks for letting me sleep here” and in an instant he dashed to the door and left the room to go into his own to change.

Surprised the redhead turned around and looked after him. With big eyes, he eyed the closed door and chuckled.


	10. First Animal Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter (｡´∀｀)ﾉ it's pretty cute so I hope you like the fluff (^_−)☆  
> I can only say that it's one of my favorites ~  
> If you have any questions or suggestions let me know and again thank you so much for the comments and kudos they always make my day and help me to motivate (´∀｀)♡

Makoto was sitting behind the sliding door. Hiding himself, he watched closely what Haru was doing. The other placed a big plate on the earthy ground of the garden and filled it with leftovers of their meals. The brunette dogboy waited impatiently at his hiding spot with wagging tail.

Sniffing at the air, he could smell the approaching visitors. His face lighted up.   
Observing the bushes at the other end of the garden he heard some rustling followed by the sound of light footsteps.

His eyes sparkled. Three grown cats were approaching the big plate: one of them was bigger than the others with crème colored fur and some big auburn spots, the other was a little smaller than the first one and had white fur with some grey spots whereas the last one was almost the same size as the previous one but more slender and completely black.

Makoto loved cats from the bottom of his heart. He adored them, their soft fur, their lovely eyes and cute nose, and of course their independent behavior, but there was one problem…he was a dogboy and so every cat he saw ran away out of fear.

The first time he tried to approach the strays, they left instantly and with dropped ears he looked after them full of disappointment. He almost forgot that he looked like a giant dog in their eyes and in most cases cats hated dogs, especially strays.

So this time he hid himself and watched Haru interacting with them.  
They were so cute and their meowing was so endearing, the dogboy had to mobilize all his self-control to restrain himself from jumping at them and cuddling them.  
It was really so unfair.

Nevertheless he had the hope that maybe if they would get used to his presence, he could pat and stroke them. It would take some time but the expectation alone was enough to let him shiver in anticipation.

Meanwhile the three cats were hungrily eating the food while Haru stroked them gently. He cared for the stray cats in the neighborhood. Everybody knew that he fed them on a regular basis, even if they weren’t his pets. It didn’t matter to him because he was content with the way things were. When the cats would come once in a while, he would stroke them and if they had enough, they left. They could do whatever they want and he wouldn’t want to restrain them. They were free. It was obvious that the stray cats appreciated his quiet attitude and delicate behavior without any pressure or demand so it wasn’t surprising that they visited him regularly.

Peeking at the brunette dogboy he saw sparkling green eyes and an excitingly wagging tail. He felt sorry for Makoto. He loved cats so much and here he was hiding behind the sliding door because the little visitors were afraid of him. They needed time to adjust to his new friend but still…his heart was hurting at his sight.

Slowly pocking his head forth, Makoto tried to get a better view on the cats. The biggest twitched her ears. Looking straight to his direction, he shyly hid behind the door again. He didn’t want to drive them away. So after a little while he tried the same again, this time the cat didn’t respond and he stayed proudly in this position, watching them until they left.   
Sighing contentedly he sat down beside his human.

“They are so cute! And I could even show my face without driving them away! That’s so awesome Haru!” He said cheerfully while looking at the empty plate. 

“Mhm”, hummed Haru approvingly and took the plate back into the kitchen. 

Outstretching himself on the wooden floor, Makoto looked at the flower field upside down. Giggling he rolled on his belly and crawled to them. With closed eyes he smelled the wonderful scent of tulips and roses, trying to distinguish each one of them. He really liked Haru’s garden, it was one of his favorite places.

“I have to buy new mackerel. Want to come with me?” asked Haru from the threshold while watching the dogboy with gentle eyes.

Surprised Makoto’s ears twitched. He looked at his human with big eyes. “Doing grocery shopping?”

“Yeah, you can choose something too if you want”, replied the other invitingly.

Green eyes were shining. “Okay!” exclaimed the dogboy with wagging tail and thought about the things he could choose from, for example a lollipop, or maybe a piece of chocolate, or…even ice cream? Makoto tilted his head. There was so much…or rather meat? Meat was good, too. He loved meat. 

Haru was still patiently waiting. When his azure eyes met Makoto’s gaze, he understood the message. 

Smiling merrily he followed his human back inside.

 

It wasn’t feeling comfortable but a lot better than the first time Makoto had to wear his collar and now he almost got used to it. Sometimes he was even a little bit proud of it. When he saw his reflection in the mirror he couldn’t deny that he looked pretty with it and his confidence grew in little steps.

Haru and Makoto were slowly walking along the street while both watched the ocean at the left side of their view. Seagulls were flying above them and crowded loudly. It was peaceful. 

When both entered the grocery store, Makoto gaped. There was…so much food! He could smell so many things, like fish, and fruits and meat and onions and carrots and so much stuff he didn’t know. 

Full of excitement he looked at his human who pushed a cart.   
Blue gentle eyes met excited green ones. Come with me.   
Makoto nodded and followed his human immediately. Feverishly looking at the different shelves and packages he tried to study every outer packing or can he didn’t know, but of course it was too much for the brunette dogboy. From time to time, when he saw something really eye-catching, he asked Haru shyly what it was. 

When the two entered the fish and meat section Makoto’s mouth began to water. With sparkling eyes and wildly wagging tail he looked at the display, filled with steaks, mincemeat, sausages and cutlets. He pressed his nose against the glass, trying to sniff at the meat. Licking his lips, he imagined how every variation of meat would taste like.

“Makoto.” A calm voice broke his ecstatic state. 

Surprised he looked at Haru who was standing beside him. He didn’t notice his approach while he was eating the display with his eyes.

“You drool”, said Haru flatly and inspected the cause of the other’s behavior.

Embarrassed he wiped the droplets of drool at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand away.

Gross, thought Makoto while looking at his hand in disgust.

“Here.” Haru extracted a tissue out of his pocket and gave it to him.

He cleaned gratefully his hand and thanked the other shyly with a smile.

“We can eat meat…once in a while”, announced his human softly and turned to the display. 

Happily wagging Makoto bounced at him. “Thank you so much Haru! I love meat! Meat is great!”

“Yes, yes,” replied Haru and patted gently his head, “But don’t forget, mackerel is the best.”

“Okay!” exclaimed the dogboy cheerfully and eyed the meat again. He bit his lip. The temptation was just so…strong…

“Come on I need to get the mackerel”, said Haru, grabbed his arm and dragged him away. With a lingering glance over his shoulder, Makoto looked at the meat display for one last time.

 

Buying enough mackerel for weeks, Haru left satisfied the fish section. Finally entering the sweets section Makoto’s eyes became big. There were so many chocolate bars in every possible flavors, cookies, bonbons, gummy bears, mochis, waffles, and candy bars… 

The dogboy didn’t know where to look first, everything seemed delicious and sweet and awesome, so he bounced from shelf to shelf studying the little pictures on each package to guess its content.

Haru chuckled softly. He reminded him of a big child finally able to eat sweets. Even when he was young he didn’t really like sweets but his friend Nagisa was obsessed with it.   
When Makoto stopped his human followed his gaze. 

The dogboy was looking at a chocolate bar. It was dark chocolate but it seemed like something was put inside, it was white and he didn’t know what it was. Cautiously touching the transparent package, he could feel that the white spots were soft and kind of fluffy. With curious eyes he looked at his human.

“Haru, what is that?” he asked while pointing at the chocolate bar.

His human took a few steps forward and inspected it. “Seems like it’s chocolate with marshmallows inside.”

Makoto tilted his head. “Marshmallows?”

“Hm…” How could he explain it? “Well it’s sugar with egg white and some other stuff. It’s really fluffy and sweet. There are different flavors and colors but the normal ones are white.”

“Eh…” The dogboy still couldn’t understand how sugar and egg white became marshmallows but it seemed interesting. Again touching the white soft spots he studied it closely.

“C-Can I take this?” he asked shyly.

“If you want”, shrugged Haru. “Let’s take a package of other marshmallows with us so you can taste the difference.”

The human grabbed one of the mixed flavored marshmallow bags and tossed it in the cart. Happily wagging, Makoto cautiously took the chocolate bar with marshmallows and put it also inside.

 

Finishing their shopping, both went to the cashier. Before Haru finally paid, he took one of the double popsicles and added it to their purchase. When they left the store, Haru opened the package of the light blue popsicles and broke it into two pieces. He expectantly presented one Makoto. The dogboy took it hesitantly and eyed the ice-cream curiously. He sniffed at it, smelling a cold and sweet scent. He experimentally licked it and exclaimed happily, “Wow that’s so delicious Haru, thank you!”

Carrying the shopping bag together both enjoyed their ice-cream.  
Haru watched the dogboy with a smile. Licking his ice cream merrily he hummed his favorite song.   
Then Haru gaped. Following Makoto’s tongue, licking at the popsicle, nipping at the top, sucking at the melted drops, his tongue peeking out of his mouth, red and wet and…

Haru blushed. What was he doing?

Embarrassed he turned his face away and licked hurriedly at his own ice cream. Oblivious to the other reactions Makoto enjoyed the fresh taste. When he finished his popsicle, he inspected the little wooden stick and smiled broadly. Looking at his human, he said cheerfully, “That was really tasty!”  
Haru hummed approvingly, but evaded the other’s gaze because of his embarrassment.

 

Both walked in comfortable silence for several minutes when Makoto’s ears twitched. He heard something; it was faint and sounded like a screech. Curiously he looked around trying to find its source. Noticing the other’s restlessness Haru asked,

“What’s wrong?”

Still looking around, the dogboy answered, “I hear something…someone is shrieking... “

Frowning Haru studied their surroundings. “You know where’s coming from?”

“No…not yet…”, replied Makoto hesitantly.

Walking a few steps to the right side, his ears twitched again. After several moments he said while pointing at the other side of the street, “I think it’s coming from over there.”

“Okay. Let me carry the bag and you search for the person,” said Haru sternly and followed the dogboy with a worried expression.

Stumbling over humps out of earth and grass both crossed the roadside ditch. After a few steps Haru could hear a soft shriek, too. It didn’t seem like it was of human nature, so maybe an injured animal?

Concerned he looked at Makoto’s back. The dogboy was walking at a good pace, following the soft pleading shrieks. Then when both arrived at another street a little bit far away from the main road Makoto walked straight to a cardbox. 

Cautiously sniffing at it, he could imagine its content. Hesitantly opening the package, he saw two bright blue eyes looking at him. Dropping his ears, he looked at the little bundle of white, brown and auburn fur. The poor kitten was shivering, obviously cold and malnourished.   
Shrieking, it crawled to the other side of the box. 

Turning to his human, Makoto whispered, “It’s a kitten Haru….and it’s…so small and miserable…can we…help him?” 

Haru could see that Makoto’s heart broke. He was very sensitive and seeing someone in pain or suffering, he felt the urge to help and this was no exception. Looking over the brunette’s shoulder Haru eyed the kitten. It seemed abandoned, no traces of a previous owner, left to die.

Shaking his head Haru frowned.

Cruel. 

He placed one hand on the other’s shoulder and whispered gently, “Of course we’ll take care of him.”

Makoto’s smile blinded him. It was so angelic and grateful that he could feel the other’s relief.   
When the dogboy carefully tried to touch the little kitten, it bit him instead. 

A soft moan escaped him but he didn’t give up. He showed him his open hand and let it sniff on him. While shivering its little cold nose touched his warm hand. He couldn’t suppress a chuckle. 

The kitten was so cute…

Eyeing the dogboy with its blue eyes the kitten took one step backwards.

“You’re such a cute little one. We want to take you with us, are you okay with this?” asked Makoto softly while smiling. Still observing the huge hand, the kitten meowed. 

Slowly moving his hand to the little creature, he touched his fur with the tip of his index finger. So soft he thought and grinned broadly.  
Gaining more courage he stroked happily the fluffy shivering body. The little kitten enjoyed this new attention and purred contently. Poking its head against his hand, it demanded for more. Makoto’s heart skipped a beat. How could somebody leave such a cute little thing alone?

After a few minutes he was finally able to take it out of the cardbox and held it carefully in his hand while pressing it against his chest.  
Haru looked at the brunette dogboy, in one large hand the little calico kitten while the other sheltered it protectively from any harm. He smiled tenderly by this sight.   
Makoto’s gentleness still surprised him sometimes and the delicacy with which he was holding the little creature was unbelievable for his height. But it was Makoto and Makoto was the gentlest person Haru knew and would ever get to know.

With wagging tail and a broad smile on his face, Makoto looked at his human. Haru was such a nice person, allowing him to take the little kitten with them. He thanked his human over and over again in his mind while watching the now warm kitten in his arms.

 

When both arrived at home, Makoto cautiously placed the kitten on one of the cushions. It was still so small that he couldn’t really say if it needed milk or meat. 

Putting the grocery bag on the table, Haru inspected the kitten closely. Maybe they needed cat milk…it was still so small…and of course a little feeding bottle but where did you get these things?  
Thinking hard, the human touched his chin absentminded. Makoto peeked at the other and tilted his head. What was Haru thinking about? When azure eyes met emerald ones, both exchanged their thoughts. 

What are you thinking about?

We need cat milk.

Yeah.

But where could we buy it?

Makoto tilted his head to the other side. Grocery store?

“But we also need a little feeding bottle”, added Haru thoughtfully.

“Ah! Right! I forgot”, exclaimed Makoto astonished.

“But we have no other option…I’ll go back to the grocery store, you look after the little kitten, okay?”, replied Haru.

“Yes of course!”

“Okay, I’ll hurry up”, and then Haru was jogging out of the living room with his wallet in his hand.

Makoto looked at the calico kitten on the cushion, meowing at him softly.

“Ah, yes. There there…” Smiling, he stroked it carefully with his fingers. Instantly the calico kitten purred loudly. Surprised Makoto chuckled. Such a little creature could purr this loudly, it was adorable. With gentle eyes he scratched him tenderly behind his tiny ears. He loved this spot too so it would also love it, he thought.   
The kitten closed its eyes and purred contently. Certainly it was exhausted, being in this cardbox for who knows how long and obviously starving. Carefully he took the kitten in his hand and placed it on his lap. Surprised it opened its eyes and observed its new location. 

“Meow?” With big blue eyes it looked at the dogboy. 

And as demanded, Makoto continued his stroking. Smiling, he touched its tiny paws softly. He was so grateful that it wasn’t afraid of him, well not anymore and that he was allowed to touch it.   
It was the first time that he could actually touch a cat in general. Every time he tried they would run away or snarl at him. Sometimes he asked to touch one of the catboys but it wasn’t the same and he felt bad for it. They had to think he was a pervert…  
The purring became softer and Makoto watched closely the kitten. 

Did he do something wrong? Or didn’t it enjoy it anymore? 

Worriedly he eyed the little creature that eventually stopped purring completely. Wagging his tail up and down in uneasiness he studied its features. It seemed pleased with its position but why did it stop purring?

Makoto rubbed his back cautiously. The kitten twitched and rolled itself up. He tilted his head in question. 

So…it was…sleeping?

Watching the tiny creature for several minutes, he counted its even breathing and touched carefully its relaxed body. 

It was really sleeping!

Makoto smiled broadly. He was proud of himself, his stroking and patting was so good that it fell asleep. Grinning dumbly he looked at the little bundle of fur in his lap.

 

When Haru finally returned, he was greeted with an endearing sight. Makoto was lying on his side asleep while holding the little kitten against his chest, also asleep.  
Smiling gently, Haru placed quietly the cat milk on the table and searched for his cell phone. He snapped one photo, inspected it critically and then snapped a whole bunch. This would be his new background he thought.

When he was pleased with his new collection of pictures, he tiptoed around the sleeping creatures and covered the brunette dogboy with a blanket, making sure that the kitten wasn’t. Sitting beside them, Haru took one of his magazines and began reading, looking up from time to time to watch the adorable bundle of fur and bodies.

 

 

 

“Hey Sousuke, I have to look after Gou’s dog today, are you okay with it?” Both were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast after their morning run. Rin devoured his usual scrambled eggs and today additionally some bacon because he earned it, so he said.

Swallowing his bite, the black haired dogboy looked up and lifted one if his eyebrows. So this was why he thought that Rin’s sister had the scent of some kind of dog on her last time.

After a few moments, he replied “Sure” and ate again.

Rubbing the back of his head, the redhead eyed the other. “If you have a problem with it, you can tell me, you know?”

After their fight Rin worried more about Sousuke’s feelings and behavior. He tried to pay more attention, which Sousuke noticed, and asked some things several times, making sure that the other was really okay with it. Sometimes it was annoying but the dogboy appreciated it, seeing the care and affection in the other’s eyes.

“Yeah, it’s really okay”, answered Sousuke calmly and shoved another pile of scrambled eggs in his mouth. His eating habits became better, at least he used forks and knives now.

Rin chuckled nervously. He knew that he sometimes overdid it, but he wanted to make sure and didn’t want to miss something anymore.

“I’ll pick up Mimi after breakfast, okay?” 

Mimi?

Sousuke hummed as response. Anyway, what kind of dog did Gou own?

 

His answer came in form of a crème colored Pomeranian with a little pink bow on her forehead and a rose collar. Rin carried her in his arms while she snuggled happily in his shirt.

Sousuke frowned.

“Seriously dude?”

Rin looked at the black haired dogboy and shrugged. “Gou likes cute things on her.”

When he approached the other, Mimi began to snarl angrily. Sousuke frowned and gritted his teeth, he could feel her distaste. God he wanted to bark back so much, making this little shit afraid of him, respect him, but…it was Gou’s dog and therefore part of his family that’s why he had to endure the high pitched noise.  
Crossing his arms he eyed the Pomeranian critically. The little dog growled and tried to jump out of the redhead’s arms.   
Sousuke lifted one of his eyebrows. As if she could bite him.

“Oy Mimi! Stop it! What’s gotten into you!” Rin lectured her and put her on the floor. 

Dashing straight towards Sousuke’s legs, he growled dangerously, “Don’t even try…”

With big eyes the Pomeranian looked at him and frowned. Pouting, she turned away and walked back to Rin, rubbing against his legs. 

Sousuke lifted his eyebrows. What the fuck? Did this shitty dog try to make him jealous?

Tightening the grip on his arms, he fixated her with his eyes and glared.

“Hey, that’s enough,” Rin interfered and kicked the other’s foot.

“How long does this…Gou’s dog stay?” asked Sousuke dryly.

“Oh well she said something about 2 days…”

Two fucking days, with this little shit….what did he do to deserve such punishment, asked the black haired dogboy internally and sighed.

As expected Mimi tried to manipulate Rin in every possible way. She coaxed him with her cute attitude and appearance while trying to get the other scolded. The Pomeranian shrieked when she was alone with the dogboy or destroyed things so he could be blamed. Of course Sousuke denied everything but her behavior put him off, in many ways.

Frowning for the rest of the day, he sat on the couch and watched how his human cheerfully played with her, hugged her and stroked her. 

He hated it.

And it took all of his patience he had not to throw this dog out, but he wasn’t jealous he told himself over and over again, only annoyed.   
The final straw was that the Pomeranian, after cuddling with the redhead, licked him on the cheek. Sousuke’s eyes became big and he had to clench his fists with all his might. Shoving his fists in his pockets he walked passed both of them upstairs into his room. He paced up and down, trying to calm down, but shit she licked him. 

SHE FUCKING LICKED HIM ON THE CHEEK.

Sousuke closed his eyes. It was only Gou’s dog…Gou’s dog…

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Sousuke, everything okay?” Rin’s voice sounded worried and nervous.

The dogboy sighed. “Yeah, come in.”

Slowly opening the door, Rin peeked inside while Mimi stood at his side and snuffled. Noticing the little dog, he sighed again.

“Hey, I know Mimi doesn’t seem to like you but I know she will. She’s a good dog, you don’t have to worry about it.”

As if this was the point.

Looking at his human he replied, “That’s not it.”

Surprised the redhead studied the other and asked confused, “Then why did you leave?”

“She licked you”, mumbled the dogboy embarrassed and turned his back to him, trying to hide his blush.

“Huh? And?” Rin answered blankly while looking at the other’s back.

Angrily Sousuke faced the other again and shouted, “She fucking licked you!”

Becoming irritated by this, the redhead shouted back, “And what’s your fucking problem?”

Pouting Sousuke turned around and crossed his arms. Rin was so dense, seriously…

Observing the sulking dogboy, Rin tried to understand why he was so angry. Then after a few moments he gaped. 

Holy shit.

Taking a step forward, he asked hesitantly, “Are you…jealous?”

“Hmpf! I’m not jealous!” snorted Sousuke grumpily. 

Rin grinned broadly. Poking the others back with his finger, he said teasingly, “Of course you’re jealous!”

Turning his face away, the black haired dogboy mumbled, “I’m not…”

“That’s really cute”, whispered Rin teasingly and traced his finger along Sousuke’s spine. The other shivered wildly. Shocked he turned around and big teal eyes looked at him in surprise.

“What the fuck Rin?!”

The redhead began to laugh heartily. Letting himself fall on the other’s bed, he rolled from side to side.

Frowning, Sousuke watched him grumpily. Meanwhile the Pomeranian tried to bite into Sousuke’s foot.

“Stop it!” said the dogboy angrily and glared at her.

 

“Hey dude I have to make some errands, can you watch the house?”

Both were sitting on the couch watching TV while the Pomeranian slept on one of the cushions.

Eyeing the clock, Sousuke replied confused, “But it’s already late, why do you have to go now?”

“I forgot to fetch some things for my mom and Gou.”

“I see.” And he should watch the little devil alone? Great. Just. Great.

“It won’t take long, you can handle Mimi, can’t you?” asked the redhead teasingly and grinned.

Sousuke snorted and crossed his arms.

“Then I’m off, I’ll bring pizza with me so you don’t have to cook, later!” He shouted from the entrance and left.

Frowning, the dogboy observed the still sleeping Pomeranian. Shit, hopefully she would sleep the next hours…

But Sousuke wasn’t lucky.

After several minutes Mimi woke up. She looked sleepily around, searching for the redhead. When she only saw Sousuke on the couch, she growled and straightened herself. Walking around the whole house, she checked every room in search of Rin but wasn’t successful.  
Depressed, she trotted back to her cushion and glared at the dogboy as if it was his fault that the other was missing.  
Sousuke peeked at her from the corner of his eye and then ignored her again. 5 minutes later, she was still staring at him without any intention of stopping. Annoyed, he snapped at her, 

“Why are you staring at me?!”

Mimi barked a few times and snorted. 

Surprised Sousuke looked at her. What the fuck was that? Scratching his ears he cerebrated. Did he actually understand her barking? It wasn’t like normal talking, more like understanding it’s meaning without actual words. Unusual and strange but it happened. Even if it was unbelievable he was curious at the same time, so he tried something out.

“Rin is coming back later, he’s doing some errands”, explained the dogboy and eyed the Pomeranian closely.

Two brown eyes blinked a few times and then she curled herself up on the cushion.

So…she did actually understand him?

After some minutes Sousuke couldn’t suppress this tormenting curiosity.

“Yo. Can you understand me?” he asked dryly.

Mimi opened her eyes. While looking at him she nodded.

What the fuck?! Since when could he talk to dogs?   
Why couldn’t he understand her at the beginning but now?

The dogboy frowned. 

Well he never actually talked to normal dogs in the past, there was never an opportunity for this, or the need but now…  
On the other hand he couldn’t explain why he didn’t understand her a few hours ago. It made no sense…

With big eyes he studied the Pomeranian. At least he could get his answers now.

“So why do you hate me?” he questioned with crossed arms.

Mimi crewed up her nose and barked.

Sousuke snorted. I don’t know you. I don’t like how Rin is looking at you. He should have only eyes for me.

This little shit. 

“Rin is my owner, not yours”, replied Sousuke smugly and grinned.

Scandalized Mimi jumped out of her position and barked furiously.

“Times change sweety, so deal with it”, said the other mockingly.

Glaring at him, the Pomeranian leaped at his leg and bit down. Sousuke hissed in pain. These little fangs were fucking sharp.

“Hey stop it!” he shouted while waving the bitten leg with the little dog on it around. 

Bouncing on the floor, Mimi looked angrily at him and barked again.

The dogboy sighed.

“I won’t take him away. I don’t get why you’re so angry.”

Mimi barked again several times. You’re no good for him, I smell it, leave him alone.

“You don’t know me!” shouted Sousuke furiously. 

She growled as response. I know you long enough to know that you’re a bad person.

“Listen. We don’t like each other, okay, fine. But stop being such a little princess and stop making my and Rin’s life difficult”, he said dryly and looked at her with cold eyes.

Shocked the Pomeranian howled. I never made his life difficult!

Sousuke lifted his eyebrows. “Oh and that you’re trying to manipulate him into hating me is NOT making life difficult, is it?”, he replied sarcastically.

She snorted and barked. I try to show him how bad you are, you don’t deserve him!

Sighing, the dogboy turned his face away. 

He didn’t deserve him, he knew that already. She was poking around in his wounds of insecurity and self hate with such precision that he could slap himself for being influenced and hurt by that. Nevertheless it was still so vividly in his mind that he couldn’t shake his shackles away. He closed his eyes trying to ignore the little presence that caused all his trouble.

Seeing that her words had some influence she continued her barking. Each one was more hateful than the other and when Sousuke had finally enough of all that he stood up and left the living room. He didn’t need someone who told him all the things he already knew, so he went upstairs into his room and closed the door. Sitting on his bed, he sighed.

First he found out that he could understand dogs somehow and now he already cursed it. He could hear scratching on the door but ignored it. How could she be so persistent?

“Leave me alone”, he said calmly and pressed his hands on his ears. Waiting for several minutes he carefully removed his hands, listening to the silence. Nothing. Good.

He would wait here until Rin returned. He really didn’t want to meet this little nuisance again. She was cheeky, blatant and shameless. She was loved, her whole life and you could see it in her attitude and confidence. He hated her so much. 

No…he envied her…for not knowing how unfair and hard life could be. She blamed and insulted him without any right, without knowing what she was talking about. 

He curled himself up and frowned. 

It was only one more day. Then she would be gone, and he only had to see her if Gou would visit or if she needed someone to look after her again. He could handle that.  
When he finally heard the clack of the front door, he stood up and went downstairs. His mouth was already watering thanks to the scent of fresh baked pizza with salami.

The rest of the evening Sousuke ignored the Pomeranian entirely. He enjoyed the pizza, talked with Rin about the next movie they could watch and excused himself when it was bedtime. He didn’t’ tell Rin about his new found ability because he thought it wasn’t really necessary, he had already made the decision to ignore it. 

 

Both started the next morning like usually. On their morning run Rin took Mimi with him, babbling about training would be good for her or something like that, but Sousuke didn’t really pay attention. He was still ignoring the little dog, trying to evade her sight at all cost. Of course Rin noticed it but didn’t say anything, at the beginning. When they arrived at the park and took their usual water break, Rin confronted the dogboy when he refused to give Mimi her water bowl.

“What the fuck is your problem Sousuke?!” he asked angrily.

Eying his human Sousuke crossed his arms. “I don’t want to give it to her, that’s all.”

“Stop this bullshit! I know you ignored her the whole fucking time, but I didn’t say anything ‘cause she didn’t seem to mind but this is the final straw! Stop acting like a douchebag, she’s only a dog for fucking sake, act more mature!” said the redhead enraged.

Irritated by that Mimi began to bark, too.

Sousuke’s ears were drumming wildly. 

“Stop it, both of you! And she isn’t only a dog, she’s insulting me the whole fucking time! She says that I’m bad for you, that I should leave and that she’s more important than me! I don’t want to listen to this, so I ignored her and now you start blaming me! Great, just great! Now she got what she wanted!” He countered angrily.

The black haired dogboy glared at the Pomeranian and left the bench. Stunned Rin was looking at Mimi and then followed the other.

“Hey! Wait Sousuke!” Rin was running after him and grabbed his arm. “What are you talking about?! You can understand her?!”

Sousuke stopped his walking and sighed. Facing his human, he replied dryly, 

“Yes, I can understand her. I found out yesterday and since then she annoyed me with stupid words, okay? I don’t want to hear it…” With sad eyes he turned away and waited for the other to release him.

“Sousuke I’m sorry, I didn’t know…I have to talk to her…” he replied thoughtfully. “But can she understand me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Please, let’s talk about this together, okay?” Rin pleaded.

Sousuke sighed again. He could never reject a request of his human. Looking into ruby eyes, he answered, 

“Fine.”

“Can you…translate me what she’s saying?” asked Rin shyly.

The dogboy hummed and both returned to the bench. Mimi was still waiting for them while protecting the backpack.

“Mimi, we have to talk”, said Rin sternly and waited for her response.

She looked at him with questioned eyes.

“Why are you insulting Sousuke?” asked the redhead seriously.

The Pomeranian eyed him curiously and then turned her gaze to the dogboy while barking a few times.

“What did she say?”

“She said because I’m a bad person and I have a bad influence on you, I don’t deserve you”, said Sousuke dryly.

“You got that wrong Mimi. I want to be together with Sousuke and he isn’t bad for me, he’s the complete opposite”, said Rin honestly.

Sousuke was relieved, it felt good that somebody was standing up for him.

The Pomeranian growled and barked again.

The dogboy sighed. 

“She said that you’re fooled by me, that she will show you how bad I am and that she…likes you that’s the reason why she’s doing all this”, he explained calmly.

Attentively listening, his human studied the little dog before him. When Sousuke finished Rin closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

“I like you too Mimi but Sousuke belongs to me now, so please accept him. He is a nice guy and you have to give him a chance.”

Mimi screwed up her nose and snorted. Turning away, she didn’t response.

Awkwardly Sousuke rubbed his neck, he didn’t know what to do. He was happy to hear these words out of Rin’s mouth but what could he do to clear the situation?  
Rin took a gulp of his water bottle and wiped away the remaining droplets with the back of his hand.

“You both ready?” He asked and put the bottle away.

Sousuke hummed while Mimi walked a few steps ahead.

 

They jogged in silence for some time when they finally reached the end of the park. At their left were some trees and bushes, forming a little grove. Sousuke turned his nose to the left, sniffing the air. Something was different than yesterday. He could smell some other dog scents unfamiliar to him but didn’t pay much attention. It wasn’t his business. Peeking at the redhead he could see a worried look on his face.

“What’s up?” he asked curiously.

“Don’t know, Mimi’s acting strange. As if she’s scared of something”, replied Rin while studying the Pomeranian. 

The whole time Sousuke didn’t look at the dog but now, seeing the little shivering creature before his feet, he couldn’t ignore her anymore.

He looked around, trying to find the source of disturbance but found nothing. The dogboy shrugged.

“Maybe we take another route today?” he proposed.

“Mhm, okay, but we have to walk back a few meters to the next crossroad.”

The other nodded and both turned around. Mimi’s irritation eased with every step back. When they reached the crossroad they took the longer way around the little pond. Again Sousuke smelled something strange coming from the bank and it rubbed him the wrong way. The fur on his tail erected and he raised his hackles. Something was coming.   
Immediately he stopped his running and observed the bank closely. There were several shadows but he couldn’t quite see what they were. Confused by Sousuke’s sudden stop Rin lifted one of his eyebrows. 

“What’s wrong?”

Sousuke frowned. “Don’t know, there’s something at the bank.” Peeking at the Pomeranian he noticed her shivering. “I think it’s the cause of her fear.”

Rin turned his gaze to the bank, too. 

Suddenly the shadows from the bank came closer to them with rapid speed. Sousuke straightened himself. He could feel the approaching danger and prepared himself. The redhead eyed him confused while Mimi was hiding behind the human. Stepping protectively before his human, he studied the shadows. There were three of them, and on closer sight they looked like stray dogs. A few meters before arriving at the group the strays stopped. Inspecting the creatures, they growled dangerously but couldn’t intimidate Sousuke. He almost laughed at their miserable attempt of threatening. Taking a deep breath, he growled in his deepest and most sinister voice.   
The strays’ attention was now on him. Good. Baring his teeth while glaring dangerously, he growled again and took a step forward. Scared, the three dogs ran promptly back to the bank. 

Sousuke smirked smugly.

Watching the whole scene with big eyes Rin asked confused, “How did you do that?”

Grinning, the dogboy replied, “Well I showed them who the stronger one is.”

“Eh…okay…at least it worked. Let’s go back”, replied the redhead astonished.

Peeking at the Pomeranian, Sousuke stopped in surprise. 

Mimi was looking at him with sparkling brown eyes and barked.

Embarrassed Sousuke rubbed his head and muttered, “No problem.”

Poking his side Rin whispered, “What did she say?”

“Ah…she thanked me and said that I was really cool.” 

Rin grinned. “You’re a real heartbreaker”, he replied teasingly.

“Hey stop that!” Flustered Sousuke ran ahead and left the redhead behind while Mimi followed him immediately.

His human chuckled and followed him shortly after.

 

The rest of the day the Pomeranian stuck to Sousuke like his own shadow. They watched TV together, Mimi snuggling into his side while the dogboy was more than puzzled. Somehow he gained her affection and she showed it without restrain. When the little dog crawled into his lap, he held his breath.

This was definitely too close for him if he considered her attitude the last day. But Sousuke couldn’t stay angry when he looked at her relaxed body and fluffy fur.

Okay…she was cute…somehow…with the little ribbon and rose collar…

Frowning Sousuke hesitantly brushed his fingertips over the crème colored fur. It really was soft. Cautiously stroking the Pomeranian, he thought that maybe she wasn’t that bad and maybe, they were somehow similar. They both tried to protect their human from any harm and both courted Rin for his attention. Of course he would never say this out loud but he liked Rin’s attention. When his red eyes were looking at him, he felt warm and something fluttered in his chest. He could understand the Pomeranian, if he were in the same situation, he wouldn’t act differently. So he made peace with the little dog in his lap who didn’t even know what the other was doing.

In the evening, when Gou picked Mimi up, the Pomeranian left reluctantly Sousuke’s side. The girl exclaimed merrily that her dog obviously had the same good taste as her while Rin laughed wildly. It was all too comical and romantic at the same time. The story was like the one he read the last time about this princess and her butler…oh wait…  
Rin blushed and turned his face to the other side. He really had to be more discrete about his secret hobby otherwise Sousuke would make fun of him for the rest of his life.

Confused the others looked at him.

“Something wrong?”

Embarrassed he chuckled awkwardly, “No no nothing wrong, have a safe drive Gou!”

“Eh…yeah…thanks again Brother, and you too Sousuke, see you!”

When the door closed, the dogboy sighed.

“That was really exhausting”, he said while scratching his ears. “I’m hungry, let’s cook something.” Trotting into the kitchen, Rin looked after him and grinned. He really had changed, for the better.


	11. First Stormy Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked pretty hard to update this weekend, too …φ(o´ωﾟo)φ…  
> This chapter is cute and a little bit disturbing at the same time, you will know it after reading. I was thinking a lot about leaving it like this or changing it completly, but I think that this was kind of necessary, please don't hate me =͟͟͞͞ =͟͟͞͞ ﾍ( ´Д`)ﾉ  
> I'll explain more at the end, nervertheless I hope you have fun reading it!  
> And thanks for these lovely comments, I was so happy to read them <3 and thanks for all the kudos, I'm glad you all like this story (*‿*✿)  
> P.s. I was listening to Glassy Sky by Donna Burke from the Tokyo Ghoul Root A anime when I was writing the Haru Makoto incident scene, I think it really fits while reading the scene :)

When Makoto woke up again, he felt a little fluffy ball pressing against his chest. Blinking a few times, he recognized the white, brown and auburn fur. He smiled drowsily and patted the tiny head of the calico kitten.

“You slept well?” asked Haru from the other side of the table while reading a book. He put the book aside and studied the sleepy dogboy and the kitten with gentle eyes.

“Ah…sorry I stroked the little kitten and then he fell asleep and…well me too”, he answered embarrassed and scratched his cheek. 

Haru shrugged. “You don’t have to apologize. I got the cat milk from the convenience store and I borrowed a feeding bottle from our neighbors.”

Makoto pricked up his ears. “That’s awesome Haru!” he exclaimed merrily and wagged. 

Wakening up by the unfamiliar voices the little calico kitten looked at Makoto with half-closed eyes. It meowed lazily and snuggled into his shirt again. Smiling broadly he took the little creature gently in his arms and walked over to his human. He delicately put her on a cushion beside Haru and expectantly looked at him with wagging tail.  
Haru patted its tiny head tenderly and smiled. It really was cute. Purring loudly, the kitten turned to his side and looked at both of them. It meowed a few times and began to press its little paws against Haru’s tight.

Hesitantly Makoto said, “I think it’s hungry…”

His human nodded and prepared the cat milk. He blended the powder with warm water and stirred it up. Then he filled it in the little feeding bottle and shook it a few times. Testing the temperature, he dripped a droplet of milk on the back of his hand. Seemed right. Good thing he read an article about feeding kittens while Makoto was asleep, thought Haru and inspected the bottle.

So…what was the best position for feeding again?

Putting a towel in his lap, he experimentally placed the kitten face down on his lap. Then he took the bottle in one hand and placed his head gently on his other palm, without raising his head, he reminded himself. Cautiously he guided the nipple into his mouth and waited for him to suck on it. After sniffing a few times the kitten nursed eagerly. 

Haru smiled. So it really was hungry.

Makoto watched the whole scene in awe. He never saw something like this before. Haru handled the kitten with so much delicacy and care that he looked at him in wonder. Additionally it seemed like Haru knew what he was doing, he never wavered, so this wasn’t his first time doing it? Curiously the dogboy eyed his human. Switching his gaze from Haru to the little kitten, he asked in a whisper, afraid that he might disturb this intimate moment,

“How do you know all this Haru? Did you already do this?”

Haru shook his head. “No it’s my first time. I read something about it while you were sleeping.”

With big eyes he looked at the other. “Wow, that’s amazing Haru! You only read it once and now you’re feeding the kitten so skillfully, as if you had done it so many times already! That’s so cool!” exclaimed Makoto in wonder.

“It’s not difficult, you want to try?” proposed his human and peeked at the dogboy.

Makoto gaped. He…kitten…feeding…he?!

“Ah I-I d-don’t know if t-this is a g-good idea”, he stuttered flustered.

“Don’t worry, you can do it”, replied Haru calmly. Reassuring him with his calm and gentle blue eyes, the dogboy shyly returned his gaze.

Maybe… but he didn’t want to do something wrong and hurt the kitten… but Haru was by his side so maybe… he could really try it… 

Hesitantly Makoto crawled a little bit forward to Haru’s side. He studied the little eating creature in the other’s hand and tilted his head in question.

Knowing his questions Haru said, “You can hold it like I do. Take one hand like this, and with the other you guide the nipple of the feeding bottle.”

Big green eyes looked at him in fear.

You can do it.

Makoto’s hands trembled. He didn’t want to hurt the poor kitten, what if he held him too tight, what if it didn’t want to eat because of him?

Taking one of the dogboy’s hands he handed him the feeding bottle over. He smiled gently at him and waited expectantly for the other. Makoto took carefully the kitten out of Haru’s hand, treating it like a fragile gem. Still trembling he guided the nipple to the tiny mouth. He needed some attempts but the kitten began eagerly to eat again.

Makoto’s whole body shivered. He felt so warm inside and happy and…with a broad smile he studied the little creature in his hand and turned to his human.

“This is so…” he whispered, searching for the right words but Haru patted his shoulder knowingly.

“I know”, he answered with a gentle smile.

Makoto was so moved and overwhelmed by the sight and Haru’s gentleness that a little tear rolled down his cheek. 

Surprised his human eyed him worriedly but noticed quickly that the dogboy was crying out of happiness.

Sniffing a few times Haru turned away and took a tissue from the table. Wiping cautiously the wetness on Makoto’s face away, the other thanked him with wagging tail and a bright smile.

When the bottle was empty, the dogboy looked at his human with questions in his eyes.

What now?

“It has to burp”, announced Haru calmly. “Hold the kitten under his belly, then pat gently the upper back.”

Nervously Makoto switched the kitten’s position and waited for the other’s approval. “Like this?”

His human nodded.

Makoto patted softly his back and after a few moments both heard a little burp. The two looked at each other and chuckled.

Haru stood up and left the living room. Astonished by this Makoto looked after him slightly in panic while observing the little creature in his hand. The kitten seemed so content, it warmed his heart. He had almost forgotten how they had found him.

Returning with a warm damp washcloth, his human carefully took the little kitten in his hands and rubbed the lower genital area. Makoto looked at him confused. What was he doing?

“I’m trying to stimulate it so it can urinate or defecate. Normally the mother does it with her tongue.”

Makoto winkled his nose. This sounded…disgusting…

From the corner of his eyes Haru peeked at him and suppressed a chuckle.

When he finished, Haru said calmly, “Now sleeping time.”

He placed the kitten delicately on one of the cushion and left with the dirty washcloth.

The dogboy eyed the little baby curiously. Gently stroking his fur, the kitten fell asleep in no time. It’s so cute hopefully they could keep him, he thought while looking tenderly at the sleeping fur ball. Haru returned with fresh brewed tea. Placing the cups on the table, he sat down beside him and peeked at the sleeping kitten. Two big green eyes were looking at him full of pleading. Inspecting Makoto’s pose, he noticed the dropped ears and nervously wagging tail. So…this was the puppy look?  
God it really was heartbreaking thought Haru while taking the full sight in. Gesturing the other to say something, he waited patiently.

“Eh…Haru…can we…keep the kitten?” asked Makoto hesitantly with such a begging tone that Haru felt a slight shiver. Wow his eyes were really big, and miserable and begging and... How could he say no to Makoto if he was looking at him like THAT?

Turning his gaze away to hide his blush, Haru mumbled, “Of course we keep him.”

Hesitantly peeking at the dogboy he was greeted with the most beautiful smile he has ever seen. His tail was wagging happily from side to side and his emerald eyes sparkled like jewels.

“Thank you Haru!” he chirped merrily and, making sure to not disturb the sleeping kitten, hugged his human tightly.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of Haru’s body pressing against his. He really liked his human and touching him was always special to him. He never felt this way about anybody else. He burrowed his nose in the black strains of hair, sniffing at Haru’s scent. He smelled like chlorine, mackerel and his own unique scent. He came to like this mixture and knew that he would be able to distinguish it out of thousands and thousands of people. It made him happy that he would find him anywhere.  
His human was such a nice and gentle person, he cold never thank him enough for this, for all the things he had done.

Haru was surprised. He knew that Makoto was sometimes overwhelmed by his emotions and feelings and it wasn’t a bad thing, but he still didn’t become accustomed to it. On the other side every time the dogboy touched him, he had this tickling itching feeling to touch him more, and it scared him. Letting the warm feeling in his chest and his fast beating heart aside…  
He knew that Makoto was very sensitive, especially when somebody wanted to touch him so he suppressed his urges afraid of scaring the other or destroying this special moment.

After a few moments Haru cleared his throat and said embarrassed, “Makoto that’s enough, you crush me!”

In an instant Makoto released him and fumbled nervously with his tail. “Ah! I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you…” shyly looking at his human he asked softly, “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m not, but you have to keep your strength in mind, got it?” replied Haru gently.

“Uh huh, okay!” Smiling broadly Makoto sat down again, waiting for the other to do the same.

 

The next week Haru and Makoto found out that the calico kitten was already able to lick his milk out of a bowl. Gradually adding more solid food over time, the kitten gained weight in a wink. It became livelier and braver therefore both had their hands full with taking care of him. They had to clean him every time after his meal, because he loved to climb into the bowl and sit in his food. When they didn’t pay attention for a second, he walked around, trying to climb the wallpaper with his little claws. His most favorite activity was chasing after Makoto’s tail. The dogboy had a lot of fun too, but when the kitten got his tail from time to time he shrieked in pain. Even if his claws were tiny, they were as sharp as a knife. On the other hand, he couldn’t deny him his play so he warned the kitten every time when he came too close to his sensitive skin. Hopefully it would learn as time went on that he could chase it but not catch it with his claws or fangs.  
At last there was still something they had to do: name the new family member. Of course Haru could only think of one appropriate name.

“Saba.”

“We can’t name the kitten after food Haruuu”, whined the dogboy while stroking his little back.

“Why not? Saba is delicious and the best fish.”

“No Haru. Oh…by the way…we don’t even know if the kitten is male or female”, said Makoto thoughtfully and tilted his head.

“Let’s take him to the vet and then we can decide. Anyway it’s already time for his first check up.”

“Eh…right…” That meant another visit by the doctor. The dogboy shivered.

“Hey, the kitten is the patient, not you”, replied Haru reassuringly and eyed the other.

“But he’s a baby Haru! What if the poor little thing is scared?! Or the doctor hurts him or he-“

“Makoto. It will be fine”, interrupted his human with a calm and reassuring voice.

“Ah…I don’t know…” He nervously scratched his ears. On the one side he didn’t want to go to the vet, on the other side he wanted to protect the little kitten. Even if he knew that the job of doctors was to help their patients, he couldn’t forget the fact that they were still humans and humans…well…not everybody was nice…and this poor little kitten was so small and fragile…Of course he trusted Haru but two people were better than one, right?

“Want to stay home?” asked Haru calmly. 

“No! I can’t leave him like that, that would be unfair and immature and…I don’t mean that I don’t trust you Haru, I do, really, but I have to be there.” Makoto was fumbling with his tail, switching his gaze nervously from the kitten to his human.

Haru smiled internally. “I understand.”

Blue calm eyes met nervous green ones.

It will be fine.

The dogboy hesitantly nodded once and smiled awkwardly.

 

In the end everything went well. The kitten turned out to be male and healthy. Additionally the vet praised them for their dedication and helpfulness in this kind of situation. He vaccinated and dewormed him while giving tips and information about the growth and development in the next few weeks. Makoto ignored the curious eyes on him, fully concentrating on the little kitten and his needs. When he was meowing, Makoto was speaking to him in a calm and friendly voice and if he was shivering out of fear, he patted him tenderly, trying to release his anxiety. Meanwhile Haru handled the talking to the staff and the rest of the formal necessities. 

 

Finally returning home, Makoto sighed in relief. Releasing the kitten out of his transport box, Haru boiled water. He thought that it would be a good idea to cheer Makoto up after such an exhausting visit therefore he took some of the red soybean dumplings he prepared the other day and placed them on the tray. Entering the living room, he saw that the dogboy was playing with the kitten again.

“He will really hurt you if you keep this up”, said Haru flatly and set the tray aside.

Looking up, Makoto grinned at him and replied, “But it’s so much fun and he really likes it too.”

The other shrugged while setting the table. “I warned you.”

“I’ll be careful Haru!” Sniffing in the direction of the table, Makoto’s eyes shone. He crawled to the table to check what smelled so delicious. Seeing the dumplings, his tail wagged wildly. He looked expectantly at his human and waited for his okay. Meanwhile the little kitten followed the dogboy and stood curiously beside him, trying to find out why he stopped the play and why he was so excited. Haru peeked at both of them and suppressed a chuckle. They really looked alike with their expression and pose.

Both were eating their dumplings in comfortable silence while the kitten ate a piece of tuna.

“By the way, tonight will be stormy”, announced Haru while sipping his tea.

Makoto’s ears twitched. Did he…hear it right?

With big eyes he looked at the other. “Really?”

Haru nodded.

The dogboy didn’t like storms. The howling and creaking and shrieking were just too scary and every time he was afraid that somebody would get hurt because of the strong wind or lightning. He couldn’t forget the rumbling thunder the last time he witnessed a storm and the consequences when he shrieked and whimpered because of it. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that bad, he nervously thought and patted the kitten’s head, trying to shake off the uneasiness that already crept into his mind. 

 

When both went upstairs into Haru’s room, the storm was in full spate. The wind was fiercely howling outside, rattling against the windows with strong force. Trees and bushes were shaking wildly, loosing their leaves to the storm.  
Makoto was shivering beside Haru, tail between his legs and pressing his hands on his ears to weaken the sounds but it wasn’t quite successful. He could still hear the howling wind, the rattling, the shrieks…  
He was so afraid of the loud and unnerving noises that he grabbed another cushion and pressed it over his ears.  
Then he could feel a warm hand on his back, reassuringly rubbing up and down.

“It’s fine. The storm will be over in the next hours”, said Haru calmly.

“O-O-Okay b-but I really h-hate storms”, he whimpered. 

“Don’t worry, it will be over soon”, replied the other and prepared his bed.

The dogboy hid under his blankets and hugged his white plush cat tightly. He peeked fearfully outside.  
He really hated loud noises, they reminded him of bad memories and he didn’t want to feel like this again, but Haru said that his anxiety became better so maybe he would handle it better than last time. Maybe this time he could do it, overcome it.

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to ignore the rattling and howling, but all in vain. When he felt soft warm fur on his cheek, he opened one eye in surprise. The kitten meowed a few times and touched his cheek with his head. With a smile on his face he began to stroke the little back. Pleased the kitten curled himself up and purred contently. It was only a short distraction but Makoto was thankful for it. Even the kitten was braver than him, thought the dogboy shamefully and dropped his ears lower.

The thunder became louder and louder with each passing minute and Makoto felt more and more lost. The only things he could see before his eyes were passing pictures, fragments of memories he already buried deep inside his mind. He couldn’t feel the soft fur of the kitten anymore or the warmth he emitted. Clutching the blankets, his shivering became stronger with each rumbling thunder. 

Sitting on his bed, Haru was reading a magazine while eyeing Makoto anxiously.  
“I think we are in the centre of the storm now”, said Haru thoughtfully, trying to distract the dogboy and get his attention but the other didn’t notice him.  
He was captured in his own world of imagination and memories.

Haru left his bed full of worry. He could see the shivering mess of blankets and brown hair. Even the kitten was so irritated that it left Makoto’s side and walked over to Haru’s bed. He jumped on the blanket and curled himself up, with his blue eyes staring at the dogboy.

When the human was near enough, he called the other’s name but Makoto didn’t listen. Touching his back softly, Haru tried to calm him down but he didn’t expect that Makoto would shriek like being beaten and would leap up.  
The dogboy was so surprised by the sudden contact and jumped instantly, crawling to the next possible corner. He didn’t know where it was coming from and he couldn’t see who it was. The only thing he felt was fear, uncontrollable fear.   
When a loud rumbling thunder announced the next lightning, he couldn’t hold it anymore. He shivered wildly, whimpered and tried to make himself as small as possible. He lost control over his body, his mind, his senses.

Haru had never seen the dogboy like this and it scared him deeply. Makoto was a mess in every aspect. Worriedly he inspected the shivering bundle in the corner and thought hard about what doing next. Trying to talk to him?

“Makoto?” asked his human hesitantly. There was no response so he tried it again, this time a little bit louder, “Makoto?”

Still nothing. 

He took slowly a step forward and eyed the dogboy worriedly. Makoto was still hiding behind blankets, strains of brown hair peeking out. There was a large wet spot under him which wasn’t there before.

Haru’s heart broke. Makoto was so frightened that he lost himself in his fear. Desperately thinking about ways to help his friend, he tried to approach him again. There were still signs of thunder and lighting outside but now far away. So the storm was almost over, thought the human while peeking out of the window and sighed.

“Makoto, the storm is almost over, can you hear me?” asked Haru nervously. Maybe this would cheer him up. He wanted to help him…but how?

Slowly walking towards the dogboy, he spoke again and again, trying to get the other’s attention.

“Makoto? Hey, can you hear me? Everything is all right. The storm is over. Makoto? Look at me, please?”

With each step Haru’s desperation grew. He didn’t know what to do and when he was only a few steps away from the shivering mess, he had the urge to enfold him in his arms but he was afraid to touch Makoto. He didn’t want to scare him again...He couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t take seeing Makoto like this. It disturbed him, letting him feel desperate and helpless. His eyes began to water. He desperately tried to think about a solution, a way to relieve the other from his fear.

“Makoto? Makoto? Makoto look at me!” said his human pleadingly.

But the dogboy couldn’t hear him. He was still captured in his own hell, trying to escape with every power he had but without success.

When Makoto still didn’t react, Haru got an idea.

Maybe…

The human went on all fours. Maybe it was dumb, but it was the only idea he had. He slowly walked the last distance on all fours while trying to see Makoto’s face.

“Makoto? Can you hear me?” Stopping before the wet spot, his lips trembled. His heart arched with every passing moment. What could he do?

“Makoto…please…” pleaded Haru desperately. No reaction. He looked around, trying to get an idea, anything that could help him to get through Makoto. Then his eyes landed on the plush cats on the other’s futon.

Haru crawled over to Makoto’s bed and hurriedly grabbed Shiro. Slowly returning to his previous position, he held the white plush cat in Makoto’s direction and said anxiously, “Makoto look, I have Shiro…Makoto look at me Shiro is here!”

The bundle of blankets and brown hair moved, only a few inches, but it moved. Haru could see green eyes peeking out of an opening. When they found the white plush cat, they became more relaxed and his gaze followed the hand holding his beloved plush cat until he saw Haru. He could see in Makoto’s eyes that his mind processed his sight, and after several moments he could hear a softly whispered “Haru”. He would have missed it if he hadn’t been fixated on the other for the past minutes. It was so fragile and soft, that it seemed more like a breath. Haru was relieved, he finally recognized him. Forming a small smile, Haru began to talk again.

“Makoto, can you hear me? I have Shiro here, he wanted to see you. Can you…come out?”

The dogboy poked his head out. Haru saw the tears on his cheeks, his puffy swollen eyes, his quivering lips, his trembling hands, still holding onto the blanket in desperation. Haru swallowed hard. He tried really hard to hold back his own tears. Makoto’s sight broke his heart, but he had to be strong for him, so he wiggled Shiro from side to side, trying to catch the other’s attention, and it worked.  
Makoto’s eyes fixated Shiro and in an instant he let the blankets go and reached for the familiar plush cat. Haru gently gave it to him and the dogboy hugged it tightly. Tears were streaming down his face, dripping on the soft white fur. 

“Makoto, it’s going to be okay”, said Haru with shaking voice. “Please, stop crying…” Lifting his face, the dogboy really looked at his human for the first time after his breakdown but nevertheless the tears didn’t stop.

“I-I’m so sorry Haru, so s-sorry…I’m sorry…” he sobbed.

“Please Makoto, don’t apologize, I’m not mad”, replied Haru helplessly. He tried to reach out, but he was still afraid of the other’s reaction, to destroy the little progress they had…but Makoto looked so…broken…  
He didn’t pay attention to the wet spot under Makoto, he didn’t even care if he got wet or dirty, he needed to hold the other, now. So discarding his fears and hesitance, Haru came closer and closer till almost in slow motion he cupped Makoto’s cheeks with his hands. He tenderly wiped the tears with his thumps away while speaking calmly to the other. 

Makoto had to blink a few times to understand what was happening. He could feel the warmth on his cheeks and smelled the scent of his human. He looked into azure eyes, full of worry and desperation. 

“I’m sorry”, he whimpered again. What else could he say? He felt so lost. 

“It’s okay”, whispered Haru while stroking the other’s cheeks gently. Then he wrapped his arms around the dogboy and hid his face on the other’s shoulder. They stayed like this for several minutes. When Haru felt that the shivering stopped, he asked softly, “Have you calmed down a little bit?”

Makoto hesitantly nodded.

“The storm is over. How about we take a warm bath and after that go to sleep, hm?” asked his human sweetly.

The dogboy could only nod. He lost his voice, he couldn’t speak, even if he tried. His tongue felt numb, heavy, didn’t want to move and the lump in his throat didn’t vanish, even through he swallowed and swallowed. The blankets slipped of his shoulder as Haru searched for one of Makoto’s hands. When he finally found the one that wasn’t occupied with Shiro, he softly but firmly grabbed it and pulled the dogboy upwards. 

The brunette dogboy followed his human silently, one last time looking back at the wet mess. Tightly closing his eyes, the next moment he opened them again they were already in the bathroom, Haru stripping himself and him while drawing a bath. 

Makoto was still in a daze otherwise he would blush deeply, he stark naked while Haru was wearing his jammers, a habit he didn’t get rid of, and the two of them being about to bath together.  
Haru felt the temperature of the water and sighed contently. He carefully took Shiro, placed him on the cupboard and led Makoto into the bathtub. It was cramped, and they needed some time to adjust their limps but in the end both were sitting on each side of the bathtub, outstretching their legs. Haru thanked himself for being so canny to buy a bigger bathtub when he had enough money for it. It was one of the first things he bought with his price money.  
He eyed the dogboy worriedly. It seemed like he was still out of it, staring at the water without focus. He gently washed Makoto’s hair, massaging the scalp in hope that the other would relax. In this moment he would love nothing better than to stay in the bathtub a little bit longer but now wasn’t the time, so he hastily washed himself and guided the dogboy carefully out of the bath. 

He dried the other skillfully off, cautiously skipping the genital area so Makoto could do it himself. It was not the time for embarrassment and he didn’t really pay attention to his circumstances, his only thought was to help Makoto as much as he could. 

Within seconds he dressed himself and a few minutes later the other was dressed too. Luckily Makoto cooperated and didn’t make things difficult so he tucked him in his own bed, hurriedly fetching Shiro from the bathroom and giving him Makoto back. Then he covered him gently with the blankets and observed him once more. He was still mute but his eyes flickered sleepily. After gently ruffling the brown damp hair, he turned to the mess on the floor. Stuffing the dirtied blankets immediately into the washer, he began to mop the floor as quietly as possible.

 

When Makoto was able to think clearly again, he found himself in Haru’s bed while hugging Shiro tightly. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing fresh new clothes. Trying to recall the incident, he shivered uncontrollably. There was the storm and he was so afraid, and then he was captured in his own memories. Then there was this loud noise and…he…

His eyes became big. Shocked, he checked himself again and shuddered. How should he face Haru again? This was so embarrassing, and he even cleaned him…  
Makoto hid his face in the soft fur of his plush cat. Hot tears escaped his eyes. He couldn’t suppress the sadness and shame he felt in this moment.

The best thing would be if he could vanish into thin air, or if the ground would open and devour him whole…

Why couldn’t he stop being afraid? Why couldn’t he leave his anxiety behind? Why did it have to escalate? Why did he have to bother Haru? WHY?

The tears were streaming endlessly, dampening the white plush fur. How should he apologize for that? Was there even a way?  
Shyly peeking at the corner where he was previously sitting, he saw that everything was normal, cleaned, as if nothing happened.

Oh my god, Haru wiped…he wiped…his…oh my god…embarrassed he hid under the blanket.  
Then his ears twitched, he heard that somebody was coming closer, Haru. Hiding even deeper, he closed his eyes tightly. He could feel a warm hand on the blanket and a soft voice whispering,

“Makoto, are you feeling better?”

Haru’s gentleness broke him. 

He didn’t deserve it. How could he worry about him after this? Peeking out of a little opening, he looked at his human and could only see blue eyes full of concern and affection.

“Why?” he asked softly. 

Confused Haru tilted his head, questioning himself if he heard it right. Waiting for an answer green eyes stared at him.

“Huh?” 

“Why? …Why aren’t you angry?” asked Makoto again, this time a little bit louder and slightly irritated.

Still puzzled his human eyed him also irritated and answered, “I know that it wasn’t your fault. You were afraid.”

The dogboy frowned. “Of course it is my fault Haru.”

“It’s not, you were scared because of the storm.”

“Haru…” whimpered the other and sniffed. “You have to be angry, scold me, shout at me…punish me…” said Makoto in a broken voice.

Haru crossed his arms and frowned. Why would he say that? He knew that he would never do this to him, so why did he ask?

“I won’t.”

Desperate green eyes were looking at him. “Punish me Haru…PUNISH ME, PLEASE!” shouted the dogboy.

Annoyed Haru pined the other down with serious azure eyes. “I WONT punish you, understand?”

Makoto was pulling at his brown hair, full of desperation. “Do it Haru! Please! Otherwise, otherwise…” He gripped Haru’s arms, trying to unfold them. Shocked his human pulled away.

“What’s wrong with you Makoto? Tell me, you know I would never hurt you!”

Tears were rolling down his cheeks and Makoto slumped down. “I d-don’t deserve your k-k-kindness…how can you still be so k-kind to me? I p-p-peed on your floor, it’s my fault, so you have to p-punish me…I can’t…face you like this…I’m b-bad…I’m a bad dog…”

He didn’t even try to wipe away his tears, he waited for his punishment. In his mind, he was already slapping himself, beating himself, insulting himself. Closing his eyes he let his head hang. He couldn’t take it…he was bad…he had to be punished…it was always like this… he didn’t want to take advantage of Haru’s kindness. He didn’t deserve it.

With a firm and serious voice, Haru said resolutely, “I. Wont. Punish. You.”

Makoto snapped his head up. Looking at his human in disbelieve, he shivered. He had to…he had to be punished…otherwise there wouldn’t be an end, or forgiveness…what could he do? 

Think, think, THINK! 

He looked desperately around, trying to find an answer. There has to be something, something he could do. Then he came to the conclusion that there was only one way, and it wouldn’t bother Haru either. It was perfect, flawless…and he smiled broadly when he looked at his human again. He jumped out of the bed, leaving Shiro behind and walked over to the other side of the room. 

Haru studied the dogboy closely when he left the bed. He looked at him in confusion, not knowing what the other was thinking. In one moment he was weeping, then he shouted at him, demanding punishment and now he was smiling. He couldn’t work out Makoto, and it scared him. He had never the feeling that he couldn’t understand the other before. It was new to him and he felt lost. He didn’t know what to do, what would help Makoto…and so he stood still, looking after the dogboy with big eyes.

Makoto was afraid and scared of the upcoming pain. He hated it the most, but it was better than not receiving forgiveness for his terrible act. He knew that it would hurt because one of the bad humans already did that to him but it was better than feeling this terrible guilt, this pain of bothering Haru, making him do things he should never do, making him…dirty…  
With one hand he felt the cold wall, experientially scratching at it with his fingernails. It would free him from his guilt. Hopefully he wouldn’t break something that would make things even worse.  
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A shiver ran over his spine but he ignored it. In the next moment he slammed his head against the wall with all his might. It hurt…it hurt so much…but it was better than feeling guilty…

When Haru saw how he slammed his head against the bare wall he flinched unintentionally. Shocked, he watched the scene until he could recover from his shock state. He dashed to the dogboy, desperately grabbing for his hands to stop. 

“Why did you do that?!” shouted Haru at him full of desperation and helplessness.

Makoto looked at him with a smile. “Haru, I have to be punished so I can leave this incident behind and it’s better that I do it so…you stay clean.” His voice was so sweet and friendly that Haru couldn’t believe what he was doing a second ago. 

Still holding his hands, Haru answered completely shaken, “Never ever do this again Makoto, you hear me?! Never hurt yourself again!”

The dogboy was looking at him full of confusion and tilted his head. There was a large bump on his forehead and his skin was torn at some parts. 

“I don’t understand Haru…I only did what was right…but if you wish, I won’t do it again. But I have to receive punishment next time I’m bad.”

“Why do you have to be punished for something like this? I don’t understand it, explain it to me…” Haru stared at the dogboy. It was the first time he was terrified…of Makoto…but he wasn’t worried about his well being but about Makoto’s. It was like he had lost himself, falling back into old habits he still had deep inside him. Maybe the emotional stress and anxiety because of the storm was so much that he…mentally broke?

“Haru. If I do something bad, I have to be punished, that’s normal, it has always been like this, so I can be forgiven by you. I won’t take advantage of your kindness, don’t worry. You’re important to me and I try to fix this.”

Haru gaped, and he was painfully aware, that there was a lot more he had to know about Makoto. There were parts of him, deep and dark as the sea, he didn’t know of until now. When he looked at their joined hands, he noticed that he was shaking. Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard. He had to solve this, but how?   
Thinking hard, he studied the wound on the dogboy’s forehead. His eyes watered but he couldn’t cry, not now, so he took a deep breath and strengthened his gaze. Makoto had lost his inner balance, and he had to rebuild it. There was only one way he could think of right now.

Blue serious eyes were looking at the other. “Fine. I will punish you, but I’ll choose your punishment, understand?”

Relieved, Makoto nodded and smiled gratefully. “Of course Haru!”

“But first I’ll take care of your wound, come on.” 

Haru dragged Makoto towards the bathroom. When he found the first aid kit, the shaking in his hands had almost stopped. He turned towards the other with disinfectant and a big band-aid. While applying the spray, Haru said calmly,

“You will look after the garden from now on, and you will take care of the kitten’s feeding schedule.”

Confused green eyes met serious blue ones. “That’s your punishment.”

“Oh…ah…okay!” With wagging tail, Makoto smiled broadly at Haru. “Ah I almost forgot the poor little kitten! How is he? Was he afraid of the noise? I hope I didn’t scare him…” 

The dogboy was blabbing about the kitten and the storm as if nothing had happened. It was like…he forgot everything what happened the last few hours and Haru listened to him attentively, nodding or humming from time to time. This incident disturbed him. He had always thought that there wouldn’t be any problems with Makoto, that he would look after him, understand him and then everything would go smoothly, but he forgot the other’s past, his previous experiences of the last years…years? Right, how old was Makoto? He never asked. How could he forget to ask such a vital part?  
When Haru carefully placed the band-aid on the wound, he interrupted the other’s speech.

“Makoto. How old are you?”

The dogboy tilted his head and crossed his arms, deep in thoughts. “Well…to tell the truth I don’t know. I know that I was several years by my previous owners, and a few years at the animal shelter but…I had this body since I remember and I didn’t really age much so…maybe I’m grown up?”

Hesitantly his human looked at him. “Do you remember your birth?”

“Birth? Well…” awkwardly Makoto rubbed his neck. “Actually we aren’t born Haru. I think you know that we…crossbreeds…don’t have parents. We are genetically made. And when I think about my first moments being…alive…it’s a blur…and I don’t really want to remember, it was scary. I only have memories of a big container, filled with blue liquid and that I wasn’t able to breath and…there were a lot more containers beside me…after that the employers took me away and the rest…I don’t know…” A shiver ran over his spine. These were episodes of his life he wanted to forget.

When Makoto spoke, Haru could see the other’s agitation and uneasiness. He never thought about the origin of crossbreeds, how they would come into the world. Hearing Makoto’s words, he shuddered internally.

Both fell silent for several moments till Haru spoke again. 

“Makoto. Let’s go to bed.” Grabbing the dogboy’s hand, he led them to his own bed.

“B-But Haru I can sleep on the futon, you don’t have to sh-“ replied the dogboy shyly.

“You sleep with me.” It was Haru’s determinative voice, that didn’t leave any place for discussion or refusal. 

So Makoto crawled hesitantly into the bed and took Shiro in his arms. He slipped on the other side of the bed so Haru had enough space for himself. When he took a deep breath, he noticed that everything had Haru’s scent, the pillows, the blanket, the sheets…It was calming, comforting and relaxed he snuggled into one of the pillows, taking a deep breath again. Soon after the dogboy, his human lay onto his side and covered both of them with the blanket.

“Good night Makoto”, said Haru softly and patted the other’s head gently.

“G-Good night Haru, sleep well!” replied Makoto flustered and peeked shyly at his human.

Within a few minutes, Makoto was already asleep, exhausted from the previous chaos of emotions and feelings. It had been a long day for him.  
Haru turned to the other side and inspected the sleeping face of the dogboy. He looked so innocent and angelic that this evening seemed to be a bad memory, a nightmare that didn’t really happen but Haru knew better. Lost in thoughts he watched the other silently while stroking his brown strains of hair. 

 

 

 

 

“Tonight, a strong storm will be approaching. Citizens of the following districts please prepare your house. There is the possibility that there will be an is-”

Rin turned off the TV and looked at Sousuke. 

“We have to prepare the house.”

The dogboy only nodded and looked out of the window, noticing the dark clouds on the distant horizon.

The rest of the afternoon Rin and Sousuke cleaned up the front yard, fixed the wooden bench beside the front door and closed every window with its shutter. The good thing was that Rin’s car was standing in the garage, so no problems on this side but the redhead was quite worried about his lion statues at the front. Fidgeting around, he tried to wrap them up with old sheets while Sousuke watched him with crossed arms.

“You know that they are made out of marble and are really heavy, right?” asked the dogboy dryly.

“Yeah I know but I don’t want that they take any damage because of the storm. I had chosen them on my own when I was in Italy. They are handmade.” Rin explained and smiled reminiscently. It was this soft smile Sousuke liked, when his eyes were half-closed and you could see this spark of light. His smile was so tender, almost fragile. Every time he saw it, he secretly hoped that he was the cause. He wanted that Rin smiled because of him, and for him. Over time he became possessive and it surprised him. He never noticed this trait in him before and he only felt like this when it concerned Rin. 

Scratching his ears, he observed how the redhead held another sheet in his hands and wrapped it around one of the lion’s big heads. His human caused emotions in him he had to keep locked, otherwise things would become nasty and of course he didn’t want that. Sighing, he cleared his throat and said loudly,

“Come on that’s enough, let’s check the other side of the house.”

Rin turned around and faced the other with worry in his eyes.

“But what if it isn’t enough?”

“It is, look at them. They look like freaking ghosts, as if you would prepare them for Halloween.” 

Rin grinned at the suggestion. They really looked like some ghosts and it was funny. Maybe he should do the same thing on Halloween, scaring the neighboring kids. The redhead snickered devilishly.

Both were walking around the house for the last check up. Everything was prepared and in place. At the horizon the clouds became even darker and the sky was completely covered by it. Strong gales passed the trees, swirling fallen leaves around like little dancers.  
Sousuke frowned. This was going to be a huge storm, hopefully nothing would break.

 

While the two were sitting on the couch watching TV, Rin noticed that Sousuke was still frowning. The wind was rattling at the wind shutters, howling fiercely against the blockade. Each time, Sousuke’s frown deepened. 

Concerned Rin asked, “Hey, are scared of storms or something?”

The black haired dogboy crossed his arms. “No I’m not. I don’t like noises, that’s all.”

Rubbing his neck, the other replied, “Then how about we play some video games, huh? They may distract you.” 

Sousuke shrugged. It wasn’t a bad idea, actually it was pretty good so he grabbed one of the controllers and grinned at the redhead.

“Think you can beat me this time?” he asked challengingly.

Rin’s eyes shone. “As if! This time I’ll mop the floor with your body big guy!” 

Still grinning, the dogboy threw the other controller to his human who caught it easily. 

Both played their favorite fighting game for hours. Rin especially turned the volume up so it would subdue the noises outside. Sousuke appreciated his concern and enjoyed the bickering while they fought. It was just too much fun to tease Rin.  
For several rounds it was a head-to-head race, one round the dogboy was winning, the next round his human dominated and so on. Finally when both agreed to one final ultimate deciding round, the two gripped their controllers tightly, full of tension and concentration. When the starting bell rang a big thunder roared through the whole house and within an instant everything went black.  
Sousuke blinked a few times and adjusted his eyes to the sudden darkness while Rin was cursing beside him.

“What the fuck?! Blackout?! Man that sucks! Can’t see shit…oy Sousuke, can you see something?”

“Yeah almost as good as with light” replied the dogboy and eyed his human. It was funny to watch the other groping his surroundings while he could look at him without being noticed. Sousuke grinned. For the first time he was glad that some part of him was canine. 

“Then go and fetch the flashlight in the storeroom. Oh and there should be some candles too. I can’t see shit like this”, grumbled Rin beside him and frowned.

Sousuke grinned and left the couch. Trotting to the storeroom, he rummaged through the different shelves and boxes. When he finally found the flashlights, he searched for the candles. He tried to use his nose, imagining the scent of wax but he wasn’t as skilled as Makoto so he could only roughly make out the direction. At least both of them cleaned it last time therefore it was easier to find everything and within a few minutes Sousuke walked back to the living room. Rin was impatiently tapping on the armrest and seemed pretty annoyed. 

“Yo, I’m back. Here.” The dogboy handed the flashlights over and placed the candles on the coffee table. Hastily turning on the flashlight, Rin sighed contentedly when he saw the first rays of light. Noticing the other’s grin he snorted. 

“You seem to be in a rather good mood” he said sarcastically and turned his attention to the candles on the table. Walking into the kitchen, he fetched the matches and lightened them one by one. He spread them around the whole living room and studied the new sight. It was romantic, if you didn’t consider the circumstances, there was the dimmed light of the candles and the sweet scent of strawberries (thanks to Nagisa who gifted him aromatic candles, why the fuck would a guy gift another guy aromatic candles?!). Nevertheless he enjoyed the new atmosphere while ignoring the roaring and howling outside. He slumped down on the couch beside Sousuke and sighed contently.

“A lot better”, he mumbled and placed the flashlight on the arm rest for future emergencies.

The dogboy hummed as response and inspected the illuminated living room. It was a cozy comfortable view, the light wasn’t too bright and seemed to caress everything it landed on and Rin’s eyes shone beautifully in the flickering light of the candles. Sousuke blinked slowly, appreciating the new pleasant atmosphere.  
Rin peeked at the other, noticing his relaxed composure. The frown on his forehead had disappeared and was replaced by a content expression. He looked completely pleased with his surroundings. The candle light enlightened his features softly and his teal eyes reflected the flickering flame of the candles. It was an adorable sight. Embarrassed Rin turned his face away, feeling the warmth in his cheeks.  
With a soft smile on his lips, Sousuke asked calmly,

“And what do we do now? We can’t play anymore.”

“Hm…” His human leaned back and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. “How about…we talk?” Facing the other again, red eyes met teal ones.

“Talk?” asked the dogboy confusedly back.

“Yeah. I want to know more about you, and you surely feel the same. Now is the perfect time, don’t you think?”

For a few moments Sousuke looked at the redhead, illuminated by the flickering light and cerebrated. It wasn’t a bad suggestion but what could they talk about? He really didn’t want to tell the other his darkest memories or the painful incidents of the past, on the other side he owed Rin because he was his human now, an important friend and companion. Additionally he WAS curious and wanted to know more about him. Alone the thought that others may know more about his past bothered him. Sighing, the dogboy leaned on the couch and watched the candles.

“Okay. What do you want to know?” he asked calmly. 

The redhead rubbed his neck. “I don’t know, what do you want to talk about?” 

Turning his gaze to the picture frames on the other side of the living room, he answered quietly, “Tell me about your family.”

“Oh…okay no problem”, replied Rin astonishment. 

“Hm…where do I start? As you already know I have a sister, Gou. She’s still living with my mother near Iwatobi. Both are really important to me and soon you will meet my mother, too.” Rin grinned at the other, noticing his surprised look and continued. 

“My…father died a long time ago when I was still a kid. It influenced me a lot, you know. He was a really good swimmer too but when he met my mother, he became a fisherman instead. He could have become a professional, he had so much potential but he chose my mother and me instead. When I started swimming, I really wanted to be like my dad, creating the perfect relay team…Nagisa and Haru were at some point a part of it”, smiling at his lap, Rin thought about his childhood, his ambition, innocence and dreams. 

“Nagisa is my other childhood friend. You will get to know him pretty soon I would say. He’s really eager to meet you.” The redhead chuckled while he imagined the blonde’s face.

“Well and as you know, I lived in Australia for a few years when I was a child and after I graduated high school, I went back to compete with the best professional swimmers and followed my dream. Meanwhile Haru stayed in Japan but in the end we became both participants. These were great times, we traveled a lot… we are both on the national team now representing Japan and all this stuff, you know…and…well Haru is my best friend. We were already childhood friends but the time in the team bound us together. And now after Olympics, I got silver and gold medals while he got gold himself. I was so happy…I mean holy shit I really managed to realize my dream…the feeling was…it was really overwhelming.” Rin’s eyes were shining while he remembered the victory ceremony, he and Haru standing on the pedestal, both laughing happily…It was one of his happiest memories and even now he was moved by it. Sniffing a few times he turned to the dogboy.

“My friends are a part of my family. They are so important to me, helping me when I had bad times, when I almost stopped swimming. Seriously without them I don’t know where I would have been now.” Awkwardly clearing his throat, he continued, “So you see you are now also part of my family, you understand?” He faced the dogboy earnestly and expectantly held his fist up.

Smiling softly, Sousuke fist bumped the other and grinned dumbly. Hearing Rin’s words made him happy, knowing that he was part of his family, being important to him. He wanted this, he liked this, he wanted to be the most important person to his human. In his eyes, the redhead was already his most important person in his heart. He was his world so he wanted to be his world, too.

“Something else you want to know?” asked Rin with a broad smile.

Sousuke was still smiling thoughtfully while looking at the flickering flames of the candles. Hearing the other’s questions, he slowly shook his head. He could still see a younger Rin in his mind, laughing with his friends while swimming. He wished he could imagine the happiness his human felt when he reached his dreams but he unfortunately couldn’t. Looking at his empty hands, he asked himself when the last time was he had a dream. It seemed like an eternity. 

“It’s my turn now”, announced the redhead and grinned. “So tell me, what was the most embarrassing experience you had?”

Sousuke frowned and crossed his arms, deep in thoughts. 

“Hm…I think it was…” face palming himself, he hid his face behind his hand. “When I met my first owner I was really…innocent, you know…and one time, when I was really happy to eat by his side for the first time, I called him “dad”.” At the last word the dogboy snorted.  
“That was really embarrassing. Back then I was so stupid, I get headaches when I think about it.”

Rin chuckled and hold his belly. “Man that’s really cute Sousuke!”

“It’s not”, replied the dogboy with a dark expression. The consequences for his inattention weren’t cute at all. He could still hear the hurtful words in his mind, the painful laugh of the human, and his mocking insults.   
He shook his head to make the memories disappear.

“Hey, I mean no harm, okay?” Rin answered concerned.

“Yeah, I know.” Staring at the candle lights again, he took a deep breath and enjoyed the sweet scent of strawberries. He didn’t really enjoy sweet things but at this moment right now, it was soothing. 

After a few moments of silence, Rin began speaking again.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” He asked nervously while fidgeting on his seat. Noticing the other’s anxiety, Sousuke looked curiously at him. 

“Shoot,” he replied calmly while extending his arms on the back part of the couch.

Rin still hesitated, he didn’t want to destroy the comfortable atmosphere but he needed to know this.

“Sousuke, what happened to your shoulder?” Shyly looking at the dogboy, his human waited for his reaction.

His eyes widened and frowning, he turned his face away. 

“I-I saw the big scar on your right shoulder when you changed and it looked really severe…If you don’t want to answer, I would understand it but…I get worried.” Rin rubbed his head uneasily and eyed the other. Hopefully he didn’t hold it against him. He didn’t know if he had overstepped an invisible boundary.

Sousuke was staring at the opposite side, thinking about his answer. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but it was Rin, his special human, and he had a right to know it after the whole story he was telling him. Closing his eyes, he heavily sighed and faced the redhead.

“I won’t go into details but…it’s an old wound…My second owner had some kinky interests and he liked beating me up. Over and over again. And one time, he tried out one of his new “toys”…well…and that’s how I got my injury. After that, the animal shelter took me in and after rehab, I moved to my second owner.” Sousuke shrugged but Rin noticed his uneasiness and stress while telling him.  
“It took me several months of rehab to regain my normal function but…when I do something repeatedly, like lifting something over my shoulder, it hurts after a while and I still have to watch my actions but I don’t have to take any medication or wear some shit, so it’s okay like this…not like…before…but still…at least I don’t feel pain anymore.”

When the dogboy stopped speaking, his human looked at him, eyes full of concern and pain.

“T-that’s really…terrible…Sousuke…” replied Rin softly.

The other shrugged. It was a long time ago, and he couldn’t do anything against it. Of course he had liked to smash the other’s head against a wall or break his bones one by one but he was a dogboy and back then he wanted to live at all costs therefore he had to keep quiet, otherwise they would have killed him, saying that he would be a danger for all humans.  
At least he could move his arm again without pain and his normal activity wasn’t constrained. 

Peeking at the redhead, he said in an encouraging tone,

“Hey don’t beat yourself up about it. It happened a long time ago. I’m fine now.”

“You’re not fine, I can see it in your eyes Sousuke…” answered his human while observing his teal eyes, identifying his hidden emotions.

Feeling caught, the dogboy turned his gaze away. Clenching his hands, he looked at his lap. 

“Be honest to me, please…” Rin’s voice was pleading but serious at the same time. Rubin eyes searched for the other’s gaze.

Hesitantly facing his human again, Sousuke unclenched his hands and smiled sadly.

“It’s a painful memory”, he explained slowly, “and…sometimes I can still feel the pain right here”, the dogboy pointed at his shoulder and sighed. “And then it reminds me of the things he did to me and I become so angry that it bothers me. I couldn’t do anything…Sometimes I can only feel rage”, helplessly he looked at his lap. “I don’t want to be angry all the time but I can’t change it…Every time I see something that reminds me of the past, I freak out…”

Rin sighed. “Hey, it’s okay Sousuke. It’s normal you feel angry about the things these bastards did to you. I mean…I would enjoy beating them up right now, man I’m so angry that they hurt you!” shouted the redhead enraged and smashed his fist into the soft fabric of the couch.

Calming himself down, he continued,  
“But at the same time I think that you never had the time to get over it, you know…And I think it’s a good thing that we talk about it openly. Don’t get me wrong, it really hurts me when you tell me these things about your past, that you felt so much pain and nobody helped you”, he placed one of his hands over his heart and closed his eyes.  
“Because knowing that you suffered so much hits me right here, but it’s better that we talk about this together, so you can find your peace.”

With earnest eyes the redhead looked at him and his gaze didn’t waver. Sousuke’s breath hitched. His eyes were so strong and honest, it intimidated him. Shyly, he switched his gaze from his lap to his human. When a big thunder shook the whole house, Sousuke flinched unknowingly. A shiver ran over his spine and his tail wagged nervously. Then he felt a soft touch over his hand. Eyeing the sudden warmth, he saw Rin’s hand over his, lightly squeezing. Lifting his eyes, he looked at the other hesitantly. This body contact was new to him, and in this moment it felt intimate, almost too private. 

Sousuke felt vulnerable after talking about his past and Rin noticed this. He had to support him, show him that he wasn’t alone and that he would protect him that’s the reason why he softly touched the other’s hand, holding it firm but gentle. He smiled at the black haired dogboy, knowing that they didn’t need words in this moment to understand each other. 

Sousuke took a few shaky breathes until he found his composure again. Rin touched his deepest parts of his heart. It was frightening, being so vulnerable but he was grateful at the same time, feeling the other’s affection and concern.

In the past nobody was really interested in him and his personality. They saw him as “the crossbreed” or “the pet” but never as a character. Makoto was the first one who talked to him normally and treated him like a dear friend. Knowing now that somebody else tried to understand him this deeply, it made Sousuke happy. He looked at their joined hands and smiled. 

When Rin saw Sousuke’s fragile smile, he held his breath. It was the same he saw after their reunion, this soft, fragile, vulnerable smile that was the complete contrast to his usual nature. It was precious and Rin knew that he had to protect it at all costs. Squeezing the other’s hand he returned his smile with one of his own. 

Both were looking into each other’s eyes, sinking deep into the abyss of rubin and teal when suddenly the lights returned. Blinking a few times, the two inspected the living room surprised and looked at each other again.

“Seems like the power returned.” Rin retracted his hand while standing up. Sousuke was looking at his own hand, already missing the other’s warmth, but he would remember it and the memory alone let him smile. 

Rin was walking around the house, checking the other rooms. There was no damage and everything seemed to be normal. Walking back into the living room, he eyed the dogboy who was still sitting on the couch, lost in thoughts.

“Oy Sousuke, how about our rematch?” asked Rin playfully and took one of the controllers. He turned the TV on and changed the channel. 

Finally the black haired dogboy broke free from his thoughts and looked at the other. Seeing the toothy grin, he grinned back and grabbed the remaining controller.

“Waiting for your defeat, huh?” he replied teasingly and smirked.

“Don’t be so confident, big guy, otherwise you will loose instantly.”

Rin sat down beside Sousuke with a big thump. Their knees were slightly touching but the redhead didn’t notice it, he was already tense, watching the screen in concentration. Peeking at his human, Sousuke’s grin became broader and he decided that he would give it his best shot with being a worthy opponent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First: Never do this, self-harm is no solution and if you have problems please turn to your friends or people who can help you.  
> Okay so here my explanation why I did this twist in Makoto's behavior:  
> As we all know Makoto had some pretty nasty experiences and even if he is sweet and soft and scared and all that, he had to cope with the other owners and their actions so he learned the hard way that if he was bad (in his or the other's eyes), punishment would follow. It's a behavior he developed over time and because of the high stress level caused by the storm and his fear, he couldn't handle the situation appropriatly. Returning to his old mindset, like regressing, he was holding onto this idea of being punished so he could return to normal/solve this situation.  
> The overall conclusion for Haru was, that he thought he could understand and predict Makoto, thinking himself safe because Makoto was relativly easy to handle but he forgot the other's past experiences. So this incident was more like a wake up call for him. I really hope you feel the same way ^^"  
> And now some comments to the Sousuke Rin conversation: His shoulder problems will return, so much I can say and Rin learned to talk with the other about his problems, being more sensitive, I hope you had the same impression.
> 
> After this long comment (holy moly) I would like to hear your impressions/minds about this development. Thanks for reading this far and staying with me and the story ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ


	12. First Swim Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter ( ﾉ^ω^)ﾉﾟ this time it's more fluffy and funny, hope you like it!  
> Thanks for all your comments, I'm so glad that you felt the same way as I did (*´ω｀*) I'm so relieved...  
> And thank you all for the kudos I'm so happy you enjoy this story so much, I'll try my best to update every week (○ゝω・○)ﾉﾟ+.☆  
> Let me know what you think about it, I'm always happy to read your comments, questions or ideas ヾ(´▽｀*)ﾉ☆

The next morning Haru woke up surrounded by an unfamiliar heat. Slowly opening his eyes he saw a mop of brown hair and two ears in front of him. Right, Makoto was sleeping with him…

Inspecting the other drowsily, he noticed the little fur bundle on top of the sleeping dogboy. Haru chuckled. This kitten was really something else. First he accepted Makoto so easily, following after him like a little duckling and now he was sleeping on top of him like he was lying on a throne without any fear of being crushed.   
He ran his fingers through the soft brown hair, delicately stroking his bangs back to see his face and especially his forehead. 

Makoto was sleeping with a serene expression on his face. His eyes were still a little bit red, but a lot better than last night. His forehead was covered with the band-aid from last night, and everything was still in place. He would change it when the dogboy had woken up. Hopefully it had healed a little bit already.

Haru bit his lip. He didn’t want to experience something like this again, never. He had to protect the dogboy at all cost, even if it meant to protect him from himself. He read something about self injury in the dog books but he would have never guessed that he needed this information. He had never imagined Makoto like this, but he was proven wrong. Flipping through his dog knowledge in his mind, he could remember that it was caused due to immense stress or separation anxiety and that these dogs would bite their tails or limbs. Well in Makoto’s case it was completely different but on the other hand only a part of him was canine and therefore it would make sense that his behavior differed. 

But what should he do? Talk with him about it so that he could explain his behavior? But last night he already tried to explain it, even if Haru couldn’t quite understand it, would it be any different today? Would Makoto be able to remember the incident or did he forget it willingly?  
Maybe they needed…help? But who could help them? Was there even something like therapy for crossbreeds? On the other side Haru wanted to manage it alone, together with Makoto without interference from somebody else…

There were a lot of questions in Haru’s head he couldn’t answer right now. He came to the conclusion that he would search for more information before starting something and observe Makoto’s behavior over the next days. Maybe a bath would help him to sort out his thoughts. 

Carefully slipping out of Makoto’s embrace he left the bed and went into the bathroom. He ran himself a bath like usual, taking of his sleeping clothes in a swift motion. When he finally touched the warm water, he sighed contently. Slipping into the bathtub, he closed his eyes and dived under. Feeling the water enveloping him, caressing his skin, he had the strong urge to swim again. It has been weeks without a decent swim because he was busy with Makoto and the kitten but he really needed it. Maybe they could go to the beach, it would be a nice change for both of them and the dogboy didn’t visit it until now. He could teach him how to swim, he was already planning to but got distracted with Rin’s and Sousuke’s quarrel and then with the kitten. It really was time to visit the beach, concluded Haru and surfaced again. Sparkling blue eyes were looking at the little dolphin swim toy. Playfully poking its nose, he smiled. He was looking forward to today’s activity, hopefully Makoto would feel the same. Closing his eyes, he leaned back and relaxed.

His bliss was interrupted when he heard rumbling from his room probably and heavy footsteps. So Makoto was awake. He submerged again, knowing that the dogboy would enter the bathroom any second. When he listened to the creaking of the door under water, he surfaced and shook his head in swift motion. He always did it, it was one of his trademarks.  
Makoto was smiling at him like usual, offering one hand to help the other.

“Good morning Haru!” he exclaimed merrily and smiled a little broader when Haru took his hand.

“Morning”, replied Haru flatly and left the bathtub. It had become their morning routine. When Makoto was awake before Haru woke him up, he would always look for him in the bathroom and help him leave the bathtub. It was something the human secretly enjoyed and sometimes he stayed in the bathtub just a little bit longer so Makoto would fetch him.

When both were eating breakfast in the living room, which Haru prepared of course, the human asked quietly,

“Are you okay?”

Makoto blinked a few times in confusion until the real meaning hit him. Embarrassed his rubbed his neck and looked at his lap.

“Eh…yeah…s-sorry for last night I…don’t really know what was wrong with me…”

Haru hummed as response but waited for the other to continue. Noticing his blue eyes on him, Makoto felt the heat in his cheeks. He had to apologize properly, after all this was the least he could do besides fulfilling his punishment.

Kneeling down and pressing his head on the wooden floor, he said earnestly,

“I’m really sorry Haru. I’m so s-sorry for making you do these things, even cleaning my…eh…the mess I left behind. I don’t know how I can repay you for your kindness…I…I will properly fulfill my punishment and try to work on my self control. I promise this won’t happen again. I promise…”

Haru could feel Makoto’s honesty and remorse in every word he spoke. He could never be angry at him but he still had to talk about his side, when the dogboy was this honest with him, he had to be, too. So the human took a deep breath and replied,

“I’ll accept your apology and I’m not mad about the wet spot on the floor. What really disturbed me was that you…hurt yourself…I never imagined that you would do that and I’m kind of lost. Why are you so fixated about punishment?”

Speaking these words was hard for him, he didn’t want to hurt Makoto, or remind him of the incident last night but they had to talk about it, sooner or later. He had learned over the years that it was better to clear things as soon as possible otherwise a huge mess would arise later on.

When Makoto listened to the other’s questions, he shivered unwillingly. Dropping his ears, he waited till his human had finished and closed his eyes in shame. Thinking about his next words, he answered hesitantly,

“At this moment, I really thought that it was the only way to…end this incident.” He fumbled nervously with his tail while switching his gaze from his lap to his human and back. “I…Well in the past every time I did something w-wrong or b-bad, my owner would punish me for it and then everything went back to normal and everything was forgotten. It…has always been this way so I thought that…we would do the same…”

“But I’m not like your previous owners…” interfered Haru and frowned.

Makoto smiled. “Yes Haru, I know…and I’m grateful for that, r-really…I was never this happy in my life as I am now…I really want to do e-everything I can for you, you mean a lot to me and…I didn’t know how to s-solve it in any other way that’s why I thought that when I…p-punish myself it would end…and you would be...eh…relieved that I managed things on my own…I don’t want to bother you!” 

With big eyes he looked at his human helplessly, trying to convey his feelings and thoughts. Haru studied the brunette dogboy closely. He could understand some of his thoughts, a little bit better than last night but it was still another world for him, different, strange, and frightening. Closing his eyes for a second, he thought about the scars on Makoto’s back and limbs, his intimidated attitude and his nervous quirks. He knew that Makoto went through a lot but it seemed that he only knew the top of the iceberg. With gentle eyes he looked at the nervous dogboy before him who tried everything he could to make his human understand. 

“Makoto. You never bother me, and if you do something bad, we will talk about it. Let’s work this out together, like we promised, okay? If you have the feeling you did something wrong, you will come to me end tell me everything, then we can decide together if it was really wrong or only an accident, okay?”

The dogboy looked at him flabbergasted. It was all so new to him, he never did these things, like talking about his bad actions or deciding if it was really bad. Processing the new development, he looked at his human and gaped. His human’s propose was unexpected but on the other hand it matched his attitude. There were no boundaries for his kindness…

Haru snickered. Makoto’s sight was just too funny. 

The sound of Haru’s snickering broke the dogboy’s daze. He blinked a few times and smiled broadly. He liked Haru’s laughing, or chuckling, or giggling, it was just too cute seeing the normally stoic human being this open. Of course he knew that his human was always kind and gentle but he didn’t show it openly like most people therefore he treasured every moment like this. 

Nodding jerkily, he wagged his tail and replied relieved and friendly, “Okay Haru!”

Both were interrupted when the little kitten touched Makoto’s leg with his tiny paws. Meowing a few times he impatiently waited for his breakfast.

“Oh! We almost forgot this cutie! Wait a moment little one, I’ll get your breakfast right away!” Hastily Makoto dashed into the kitchen and fetched the cat food. Returning within a few seconds he placed the little plate before the hungry kitten and watched him eating. 

Smiling dumbly, he caressed the little creature with his eyes, waiting for him to finish his meal so he could pat him.   
Haru watched the scene with gentle eyes and a small smile on his face. He was glad that Makoto went back to normal and that they cleared the whole thing. Remembering his idea from the bath, he proposed motivated,

“Makoto. Let’s go to the beach.”

Surprised the dogboy looked at him. “Huh?”

“I want to swim, and it’s time you learn it, too”, added the human and sipped at his tea.

“Eh…but I never went to the beach and I never touched the ocean and I can’t swim and I do-“, the dogboy rambled on nervously.

“Makoto”, interrupted the other, “That’s the reason why we go to the beach. So I teach you and you get to know the beach. We’re living in Iwatobi, so it’s natural that we spend a lot of time at the beach.”

“Ah…okay…” the dogboy wagged uneasily with his tail from side to side.

Blue sparkling eyes met unsure green ones. 

Don’t worry I’m by your side.

Okay… Makoto smiled shyly and nodded once.

Haru was a professional swimmer, so nothing could happen to him, right?

“By the way we still haven’t decided on a name for him”, said Haru while looking at the calico kitten.

“You’re right, we have to choose a good one, it stays with him for the rest of his life!” exclaimed the dogboy solemnly. 

“Saba.”

“No Haru”, Makoto crossed his arms and frowned. “No food”. 

Both cerebrated for several minutes, exchanging their ideas but nothing really matched. When the human observed the little calico kitten that meowed a few times, he got another idea. He had more than 3 colors thus he was a lucky cat and additionally he was lucky that they found him in this cardboard box.

“Yoshi”, announced Haru with a resolute voice while waiting for the other’s reaction.

Makoto’s ears twitched. He tilted his head from side to side and looked at the kitten. Actually, it really matched him. He smiled broadly and turned his gaze back to his human.

“That’s a really good name Haru, it fits.” Patting the little head, he chuckled. “Yoshi really suits him because he is a lucky cat in many ways.”

Pleased with his decision, his human leaned back and watched the two of them cuddling.

On their way to the beach, Makoto wagged nervously with his tail while looking back several times.

“I-I don’t know if it’s a good idea that we leave Yoshi alone. I mean he is still so small and maybe he gets hungry and then we are not there and he has to-“

“Makoto. He will be fine. He’s old enough to stay alone for a couple of hours”, interrupted Haru while fixating the ocean with his azure eyes.

The dogboy was carrying their small bag with a bottle of water, sunscreen, some snacks and their towels. Both wore their jammers underneath their normal clothes whereas Makoto had to wear his collar, too. In the hot midday sun, he was sweating under the thick leather, hoping that he wouldn’t ruin the soft fabric. Wiping the sweat on his forehead away, he peeked at his human and wondered how the other wasn’t bothered by the hot weather. Haru was still staring at the ocean, without batting an eye. The dogboy somehow had the urge to pant but he suppressed it. It wasn’t appropriate, after all he wanted to be human so he had to act like one. He sniffed the air, noticing that the salty scent increased with each step. Normally he could only smell such a scent when a strong breeze blew through Haru’s garden.

When the two of them finally arrived at the beach it was crowded with families and their children, teenagers, couples, older people, in short everyone was there. Haru frowned. He preferred a peaceful environment, without being bothered by loud noises or splashing kids. He could swim far away to get his desired quietness but with Makoto by his side, that wasn’t possible. They needed a quiet place so the dogboy could relax and learn to swim without any pressure from outside. Maybe it would have been better to go to Iwatobi SC Returns but well, now it was too late. 

Walking a few steps ahead, Haru scanned the beach for a secluded area. They had to walk quite a distance but he knew a special place nobody else had noticed yet. So he dragged the dogboy along, ignoring the surprised cries and cheers of the people who recognized him or ogled the brunette dogboy beside him. 

Ducking his head, Makoto tried to ignore the curious eyes on him, he hated being the centre of attention. It made him nervous and uneasy. Grabbing a part of Haru’s shirt, he held onto it and followed him shyly. He felt better when he touched the soft fabric because now he was connected to his human and he would protect him.

Finally arriving at Haru’s secret place, Makoto slumped down with a sigh. He was leaning on a rock in the shadows while Haru put sunscreen on his skin. Throwing the bottle over to the dogboy, he looked expectantly at him. Makoto tilted his head in confusion while Haru walked over to him and sat down right before him, demandingly turning his back to him.

Oh!

The dogboy immediately opened the bottle and pressed a good amount of sun screen on his hand. Evenly spreading the lotion, he looked at the others back with big eyes. Right, he had to…touch Haru…  
Embarrassed he turned his face away. 

“Come on”, said his human impatiently and looked over his shoulder. Makoto studied the sparkling blue eyes and felt the warmth in his cheeks. 

“Eh…okay…I-I’ll begin now…” he replied shyly. Feeling his fast beating heart, he softly touched the others back with his fingertips. Haru shivered for a brief second because of the cold sun screen. Cautiously applying the lotion, Makoto watched the delicate skin curiously. It felt so smooth…When he became more confident, he pressed his hands a little bit stronger down, gaining a soft moan from his human. Surprised he stopped for a split second to process the reaction. So...Did Haru like it?

“Is this okay?” asked Makoto shyly.

Haru hummed as response.

With a broad smile, the dogboy stroked up and down, massaging the soft skin under his fingers and kneading the tense shoulders.   
When he felt the other’s fingertips ghosting over his skin, Haru shivered pleasantly and let his head drop. Makoto’s hands felt so comfortable on him, delicately applying the sunscreen while massaging his back. He was so relaxed that he could fall asleep if he wanted to but the expectation of swimming held his thoughts together. Slightly swinging his head from left to right, he could feel the pleasant pressure on his neck.

After a few more minutes, Makoto stopped his actions and announced shyly while hiding his blush behind the palm of his hand, “Finished.” 

Haru thanked him absent minded while eying the ocean. Within an instant he dashed over the beach and jumped into the salt water, leaving a flustered Makoto behind. Sighing contently, he swam lazily a few strokes, enjoying the familiar feeling of water surrounding him. 

After savoring his bliss, he peeked at the shore and saw the dogboy, who was closely watching the waves. There were a whole bunch of holes around him, some deeper than others. When he swam a little bit closer he noticed the sand on Makoto’s face and well…on his whole body. Haru chuckled. It seemed like he had a lot of fun while digging these holes and a little bit farther away he could detect a big sandcastle.   
It seemed that now Makoto was interested in the waves. From time to time touching the salt water, he sniffed at it and observed closely the seaweeds that swam around the shore. He tilted his head in question. Trying to touch it, he shrieked and leaped away. It felt so slimy and gross and cold and urgh… A shiver ran over his spine and he took a few steps back, eying the seaweed critically.

Before Haru could laugh, he dived under. This scene was just too funny.  
When his human came closer, Makoto could see the black haired head peeking out of the salt water. Waving wildly he greeted the other merrily.

“Haru you looked so cool! Your swimming is so pretty! Oh and digging is so much fun! I like digging! Let’s dig together!” The dogboy bounced around him and chattered excitedly. “Oh and did you see my sandcastle? I tried to make it really big and there are two towers but I had to rebuild some parts because they collapsed. I guess the sand was too dry.”

Haru smiled and ruffled his mop of brown hair. “We can do that later, let’s swim, together.”

Within an instant Makoto’s smile vanished and was replaced by a nervous and worried expression. “Eh…Haru…I can’t swim and I…I’m afraid of the ocean”, he finished softly and dropped his ears.

“You don’t have to be afraid, I’m with you”, replied Haru reassuringly. 

“O-Okay…” Still feeling uneasy, he followed obediently after his human who took a swim cap and some goggles out of the bag.

“Here. The swim cap is for your ears. I have read that it can be uncomfortable if you get water in your ears, and this is for your eyes.” Receiving the two things, Makoto looked confused at his hands. How was he supposed to wear this? He turned the goggles over and inspected it closely.

“Come on, I’ll show you”, added Haru and put the swim cap over the brunette’s shock. Carefully tucking the ears and strains of hair inside, he studied his result critically. Everything was covered, good. Meanwhile Makoto was stunned in surprise, unable to say anything till the other finished his action. Then he cautiously touched his head with his fingertips, noticing that he was now covered with something like…rubber…With big eyes he looked at his human in question.

“Now the goggles. Close your eyes Makoto”, said Haru flatly and waited patiently for the other.

Makoto closed hesitantly his eyes, again feeling nervous because of the unknown act lying right before him. He could only feel light hands on the backside of his head, some pressure around his eyes and the soft sound of slapping rubber.

“Finished”, announced Haru quietly and inspected Makoto. He looked fine like this, everything was covered and he could count as a normal human, if you excluded the tail on his backside.

Carefully opening his eyes, the dogboy blinked a few times, irritated be the sudden change of his vision. It was darker and greener, and he could see the plastic that covered his eyes now. He touched the smooth surface carefully and poked it a few times.

Haru eyed him and explained softly, “These are goggles, so salt water doesn’t get in your eyes.”

“Oh…that’s really nice…” replied Makoto, still adjusting to his new vision.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Now let’s go.” His human turned around and walked towards the waves.

“W-Wait Haru, why aren’t you wearing it?” asked the other confused.

“No need at the moment, come on.”

Makoto was standing before the ocean, waves splashing against his feet and ankles. He fumbled nervously with his tail, afraid of taking another step forward. Haru looked back at him in confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m scared”, replied the dogboy in a tiny voice while still observing the splashing water. 

Walking back to the other, Haru grabbed one of his hands and searched for his green eyes. When their gazes met, he said quietly and solemnly,

“You don’t have to be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

Makoto blushed unintentionally. Haru’s eyes were so expressive and strong that he lost any reason to refuse. Therefore when his human pulled him towards the ocean, he followed him without hesitation.

When the water was reaching Haru’s belly button, he stopped and eyed the dogboy curiously. There was no sight of fear, but uneasiness.   
Makoto looked at his belly and then at his human. This was definitely deep enough for him and the other understood his expression. Looking at the dogboy, he cleared his throat and studied him attentively.

“Let’s start the lesson”, said Haru seriously and began talking about swimming theory, explaining the different strokes and specialties. He stated that his favorite stroke was free which Makoto already knew and showed him how to move his arms.

“But first, let’s try out if you can float, it’s called turtle position.” Showing the other what he meant, Haru huddled up with his back peeking out of the water, floating on the surface. Curiously eyeing the action, Makoto stood beside him and was astonished. It seemed so…easy…

When his human surfaced, he signaled the dogboy to try it out, too. Makoto nervously inspected the sea water with its little waves and turned his gaze to Haru.

“I-I don’t know, if I can do it…” he said anxiously and frowned. It was like the ocean was some unknown world, ready to swallow him whole. A shiver ran over his spine while thinking about it.

“Don’t worry, I’m right beside you. The water isn’t your enemy, it’s your friend. Don’t resist. If you can’t hold your breath anymore, you can surface and if you get scared you can surface, too. You can try opening your eyes under water if it helps you because you wear goggles now”, Haru reassured him while pointing at his pair.

Swallowing hard, the dogboy closed his eyes while pressing two fingers on his nasal wings. Then he cautiously bent down till his chin touched the water. Taking a deep breath he crouched and imitated the position the other had shown him. He could feel how his body was floating in the water like some piece of wood. It wasn’t really unpleasant but it still felt strange, like being enwrapped by something, like being captured. Slowly opening one eye, he looked at the surrounding water and recognized Haru’s shadow. His lips formed small smile. Right, Haru was with him.

Haru inspected Makoto closely while the other was under water. After a few moments of watching he softly poked his back as signal for being finished. The dogboy unbent himself hastily and shivered. Out of routine, he shook his whole body whereas some water droplets landed on Haru’s skin.

“You okay?” asked his human worriedly.

“A-Actually it was okay…somehow…but I still don’t like being underwater”, said the dogboy shyly.

Lifting his eyebrows, Haru looked at him surprised.

“Well but most of the strokes contain something like diving. Your face is under water and you only surface to breath…” explained his human thoughtfully. “There’s only one stroke without this. It’s backstroke but I don’t swim it myself…”

“Ah..hahaha I know you like free style the most Haru”, chuckled Makoto awkwardly while rubbing nervously his neck. “It’s okay, I mean I don’t really have to learn swimming…”

“Of course you have!” replied Haru scandalized. “I want to swim with you.”

Surprised the dogboy looked at him with big green eyes. “Haru…”

Haru turned embarrassed away and crossed his arms. There had to be a way maybe somebody else could help…like Rin? He knew that his friend learned every style and wasn’t really reluctant to switch between them. Of course he had also his favorite strokes but at least he could teach better than him because in his high school years he was the captain of his swim team, thought Haru. 

“It’s okay Makoto. I’ll ask Rin later if he can help us. He…” Looking at the water surface, Haru let his hand drop and touched the water tenderly, “I think he can help you more. I can’t express myself well…”

“No no Haru! Don’t say that! You helped me a lot already!” answered the dogboy and shook his head wildly. “I mean it’s the first time I’m in the ocean and I was really afraid of it but you…you helped to leave my fear behind…well…most of it…” Embarrassed Makoto fumbled with his wet tail and looked shyly at his human, hoping that the other got his message.

With gentle eyes he looked at the dogboy and smiled. Makoto was so honest. Patting his head, he replied softly,

“Thank you. How about we go back to the beach?”

“Ah you don’t have to go with me. You can swim. I know you were really looking forward to it!”

Haru was torn between Makoto’s propose and his own decision. Looking at the sparkling water surface, moving silently, its beautiful blue green color…He bit his lip. He really wanted to swim more but leaving Makoto alone wasn’t right… 

Seeing his human’s conflict, Makoto smiled broadly and laid one hand on the other’s shoulder.  
“It’s okay Haru, go swim. I’ll wait for you on the beach and enjoy digging a little bit more and I still have to build the castle garden and decorate it”, he chirped merrily and waited for the other’s gaze. When his cheerful green eyes met unsure azure eyes, he smiled even more. With a sigh Haru turned around and faced the vast horizon. Diving head on into the ocean, he felt pleasant cool water enwrapping him.

Makoto chuckled and walked back to the beach. With wagging tail, he thought about how he would build little trees and bushes and how he would decorate the castle walls with pretty shells and stones. There was a lot to do. With a broad smile on his face, he trotted to his sand caste and started digging the castle moat. From time to time he would look up and watch the swimming figure of his human who seemed to become one with the ocean.

“Sousuke, I’m going to swim today, wanna come with me?” asked Rin the black haired dogboy while both were jogging along their usual route.  
Sousuke frowned. On the one side he was curious about Rin’s swimming style, how he would look while doing his most favorite activity. On the other side he didn’t really like swimming, well at least the last time he had to. 

“Come on. If you can’t swim, I can show you, you know? I’m a really good teacher”, added the redhead and grinned toothy.

Peeking at his human, Sousuke snorted. “Of course I can swim. I just don’t enjoy it.”

Rin was flabbergasted. There was really somebody who didn’t enjoy swimming? And it was Sousuke, his new bro? With big eyes he gaped and almost tripped while running.

“Hey, be careful”, lectured the dogboy with a frown.

“B-But I…I mean…why?” asked his human confused. He couldn’t understand how somebody didn’t enjoy swimming, gliding through the cold and smooth water surface, being able to swim with his friends and teammates…it was awesome in his eyes, so why?

Sousuke cleared his throat and looked forward.   
“Listen, I don’t like swimming, that’s all. I can accompany you but I won’t swim”, he said finally with a serious tone.

Rin eyed the other critically and replied, “Man that’s totally boring, sitting on the bench and watching others swim. Come on Sousuke, it’s really important to me…”

The dogboy sighed. He didn’t want to make Rin sad but he was resolute. No swimming. 

Seeing the other’s stony face, the redhead sighed.

“Fine, but I will take another pair of jammers with me in case you change your mind.”

Sousuke peeked at his human and shrugged. He could do what he wanted, he wouldn’t swim, and that was obvious.

The two of them entered the locker room of the swimming bath.

“Man, that brings back memories…this place changed so much over the years”, reminiscent Rin while looking around. He had talked with his old coach Sasabe about using this place for training. The other agreed enthusiastically, even when the redhead added that he wanted to use the pool after opening hours. The only condition was to leave this place clean. While Rin would do his training regime, the owner would do his accounting and when he had finished, he would give the word to Sasabe and everything would be fine. 

Rin was relieved that he could train here otherwise he had to search for another place and this would cost time and money, whereas money wasn’t the problem.   
He grinned. Maybe he should build his own swimming pool with long lanes, nice coloring, man he could even color the pool bright red. This idea was pretty awesome, he thought and snickered. 

Sousuke eyed him while lifting one of his eyebrows in question. Noticing the other’s gaze, Rin stopped him with a wave of his hand and said, “I was only thinking about future stuff, nothing important.” He knew that the dogboy would lecture him about his stupid idea therefore he planned it secretly and if the pool had already been built, Sousuke couldn’t say anything against it. Grinning, Rin began to change.

The dogboy snorted as response and crossed his arms. He sat on the bench, carefully turning his face away while the other changed.  
He didn’t want to risk a peek because if Rin would catch him, he would tease him the whole day so he stopped himself from doing it. Tipping his index finger on his upper arm, he patiently waited for the other to finish.  
When the redhead adjusted his jammers one last time, he stored his backpack away and turned to the waiting dogboy.

“I’m ready, let’s go!” he exclaimed enthusiastically while grabbing his swim cap and goggles.

When both entered the pool area, Sousuke was hit with a scent of chlorine and fresh water. It was humid, but he didn’t mind. Slumping down at the next bench, he crossed his arms and watched Rin walking to the starting blocks. 

“Hey Sousuke, watch me closely! You will never see a first rate Olympic swimmer like me this close! Maybe you change your mind after seeing me swim!” shouted Rin over his shoulder and put his goggles on. Taking a deep breath and crouching down, he counted a countdown in his mind and jumped into the water.

Sousuke watched him attentively, without paying attention to the other’s words because his human was swimming was reason enough. After the jump, he looked at the pool in awe. Rin’s butterfly seemed so powerful and majestic, as if the pool was his kingdom he reigned. At the same time it looked beautiful, Sousuke couldn’t describe it with other words. It was captivating and he couldn’t take his eyes of. 

When the redhead took his turn Sousuke could see his toothy grin which fired him up.   
He wanted to swim with him, challenge him, racing side by side with him. He didn’t even notice that now he was standing beside the pool, his eyes following Rin’s figure with every move. When did he walk over? He didn’t know and at this moment it didn’t really matter. With wagging tail he was standing at the right pool side where Rin would arrive, offering him his hand to help him out.  
Taking off his swim cap and goggles, Rin shook his wet red hair. With shining red eyes he looked at the dogboy and grinned. 

“And? How was it?” he asked curiously and smugly.

With a light blush on his cheeks, Sousuke answered, “yeah it was…good…”

Taking the offered hand, his human replied excessively indignantly, “Only good? Hey that was at least awesome or fantastic, okay?!” While chuckling he softly punched the other’s chest and grinned at him.

Sousuke mumbled something incomprehensible and returned to the bench, followed by the redhead. Throwing one towel at the other, Sousuke sat down again. Rin laid the towel around his neck and sat down beside the other. 

After a few moments of silence, the human asked hesitantly, “Hey…why don’t you want to swim with me? Am...I the cause?”

With shocked teal eyes Sousuke faced him abruptly and answered, “No of course not! It has nothing to do with you!”

“Then, what’s your problem. You can tell me, you know?” replied Rin while looking at the dogboy in earnest.

Sousuke sighed. Why couldn’t Rin leave it alone? Defeated, he turned to his human and told him,

“Fine...I can swim because I had to, otherwise I would have been dead by now, okay? My first owner tossed me into the river near his house when he tried to get rid of me…That’s the reason why I don’t like swimming.”

Shocked, Rin watched him with sad eyes. What could he say? He swallowed audibly, trying to find the right words. Noticing his human’s uneasiness, Sousuke sighed again and rubbed his neck. 

“Hey, don’t sweat it.”

Looking at his lap, Rin stayed silent. He could understand why the dogboy didn’t want to swim after hearing his story but he was really looking forward to swimming with him, he even brought another swim cap and goggles with him, just in case. Realizing that his little hope had been crushed, he didn’t know which made him sadder, listening to Sousuke’s story or knowing that the other would never swim with him. He couldn’t suppress the sad expression on his face. Sousuke eyed him worriedly when he saw his sad face. He didn’t want to make Rin sad, he only wanted to correct the reason why he wouldn’t swim and he had pestered him about it. Nervously trying to find a way to cheer the redhead up, he tightened his grip on the bench.

Rin stood up while taking the towel off his shoulders and laying it on the bench beside him. Before he went to the pool, he mumbled, “Thanks for telling me” and left. Without any further actions, he instantly jumped into the cold familiar water and swam his laps.

Sousuke looked after him with a gloomy face. He cursed himself for making his most important human sad again. He didn’t want that. Looking at the pool, he followed Rin’s fluent movements finishing one turn after another. Fuck, he really looked amazing like this and Sousuke wanted to be a part of it. 

Inspecting his clenching and unclenching hands, he cerebrated. Truthfully he didn’t want to admit it but…he was somehow afraid of being in water again. After the incident he avoided every open water places like rivers, seas, ocean etc. He never even thought about swimming or other water activities, he simply banished it from his mind. But seeing his human now, swimming like a true water god with so much fun and fire in his eyes, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. A shiver ran over his spine.   
Shit, he really wanted to swim with him but his fear held him back. Admitting his fear was one of the most difficult things for the dogboy. Fear meant being weak, and he didn’t want to be weak, he wanted to be strong, he was strong, therefore he shouldn’t fear anything! 

But reality was different. His eyes were still glued on Rin’s figure, following his energetic stroke. Maybe he could swim like that too, if he overcame his stubbornness. Maybe both would swim side by side, being fired up by their challenge.   
The expectation was nice and it filled Sousuke’s heart with a flickering flame.  
He should stop being such a wimp and do something. Peeking at his fists, he stood resolutely up and walked over to the pool side. His steps were firm, no sight of wavering. With serious teal eyes, he waited for his human to arrive at his side. 

When Rin noticed a shadow at the other end of the pool, he studied surprised the frowning dogboy a few meters away. After reaching the finish, he looked up into serious teal eyes. Sousuke crossed his arms and said solemnly,

“I’ll try it.”

For a moment Rin was puzzled. What did he mean? And then a light dawned on him. Grinning broadly, he left the pool with a swift movement and stood beside Sousuke, lying one hand on the other’s shoulder.

“That’s great man”, he said happily and both went to the locker rooms.

Sousuke felt uncomfortable. He was wearing a swim cap for the first time and the new feeling of his ears being pushed in annoyed him somehow. Letting aside that the jammers Rin brought him were a little bit tight, it was tolerable. Adjusting the goggles, he looked at his human and frowned.  
Rin chuckled. Patting the other on his back, he said merrily,

“Don’t look so gloomy! You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. By the way you look good”, the redhead snickered and dragged the black haired dogboy to the pool side. He had to admit that the tight fitting jammers on Sousuke were really…unfair, because now you could see his defined muscles even better. Rin had to stop himself from ogling him and in this moment. He asked himself if he adopted this behavior from Gou over years of exposition. Clearing his throat, he asked softly,

“So how do you want to start? Walking slowly into the water or jumping? I guess walking would be better…” Thoughtfully rubbing his head, Rin eyed Sousuke in question. The other shrugged. 

“I’ll go in first, then you follow me, okay?” asked the redhead while taking the steel ladder to enter the pool. Standing right beside it, he encouraged the dogboy to follow.   
Sousuke frowned and crossed his arms. That was too easy. Grabbing the steel bracket, he took every step slowly but firmly. When he touched the water with his toes for the first time, he shuddered and stopped in midair. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he slowly put his foot into the water and inhaled audibly. It wasn’t that bad. He could do this. Taking the rest of the steps intentionally, he found himself standing beside his human and felt the sweat on his neck. He was proud of himself whereas he wasn’t the only one. Rin looked at him with shining eyes and exclaimed cheerfully, “That was great Sousuke, you did well!”

With a light blush on his cheeks, he turned his face to the other way and mumbled, “That was nothing.”

His human grinned knowingly and replied, “Wanna wait till you adjust to the water or do you want to swim right now?”

“Hm…” Sousuke eyed the water surface thoughtfully, thinking hard about the two options. Waiting a little bit would be better so he could calm down his rapidly beating heart but on the other side he was impatient. His thoughts were interrupted when his human spoke again.

“By the way, how do you swim? Do you have a special stroke? Which stroke do you prefer?” Curious red eyes looked at him.

Sousuke tilted his head. “It’s the one you swam the first lap with, where you can lift your head out of the water. I managed that almost no water went into my ears.”

Rin thought for a moment and he answered surprised, “Wait you swim butterfly?!”

The dogboy shrugged. 

“Man that’s so awesome! It’s my favorite swimming style and…” he rubbed his nose and grinned broadly, “I’m the world champion in 100m and 200m butterfly.”

Sousuke looked at him with surprise. He knew that his human was a professional swimmer and he knew that he went to the Olympics but he didn’t really ask what he achieved or did there. He wasn’t interested in swimming and now hearing this information left him flabbergasted. So he should swim with the world champion by his side? Man that was… He noticed the redhead’s grin and answered with a grin of his own. 

“That’s really sweet Rin, good job.” For a brief moment he thought that maybe it was too early to do this but nevertheless he would try. He lifted his fist expectantly for the first time on his own. With big eyes Rin eyed the other’s fist and within a moment he fist bumped him with a cheerful laugh. 

“Yeah thanks. I worked pretty hard for it. When I think about the training I did, holy shit… but I have to stay in shape otherwise others could contest my spot next time. Now let’s get started. Put your goggles on and show me your butterfly!” With crossed arms Rin looked expectantly at the dogboy and grinned.

His human was already so fired up, there was no way he wasn’t motivated, too. So he adjusted his goggles and took a deep breath. He walked a few steps forward to have enough place while rolling his shoulder. Then he closed his eyes for a moment and glided into the water so that only his head was peeking out know. When he opened his eyes again he leaped forward and used his stroke for the first time after so many years. It felt nostalgic somehow but surprisingly not unpleasant. It was more like he remembered how powerful he felt when he swam against the tides, the water. Extending his arms, tensing his whole body, it felt so different. He knew he had the power and strength to divide the water, carving out his own way. 

When he touched the cold tiles of the pool, he breathed heavily. Taking his goggles off, he looked around while searching for the redhead. He smiled unknowingly, feeling the pumping blood in his veins, the shivering of his tensed muscles, he felt so alive. At last his eyes landed on his human who swam to him from the other end. When he arrived, he patted his shoulder affectionately and exclaimed happily,

“Man that was awesome Sousuke! And this is your second time?! You really swim like a pro dude! Your strokes were so powerful, holy shit!”

Embarrassed the dogboy rubbed his neck. Rin’s compliments were like honey: sweet, addictive, intoxicating. His tail wagged happily, splashing around the water while he turned his face away out of embarrassment. He already felt the creeping warmth in his cheeks and tried to hide it. 

After a few moments of talking about the butterfly stroke and Sousuke’s possible improvements, Rin looked at the dogboy arms akimbo.

“Sousuke, let’s race!” challenged the redhead seriously and pointed his index finger at the dogboy. 

Shaking his embarrassment away, he looked at his human with big eyes. As if he could beat the world champion…

“Come on, I’ll go easy on you, promise”, teased the other and winked at him. Sousuke frowned and crossed his arms. Of course Rin already knew how to press certain buttons in him therefore he couldn’t reject the offer anymore. He was always competitive, even if others challenged him for stupid things. He would do it because he never shyer away from a match. So as a result he was the champion of the loudest howl, the most disgusting burp and the sharpest teeth. Most of the time one of the other dogboys challenged him and sometimes a catboy too, nevertheless the outcome was always the same. Sousuke won and hence was the strongest of the crossbreeds in the animal shelter back then. Meanwhile Makoto ignored his behavior the whole time. The black haired dogboy had to admit that he didn’t have the need to challenge Makoto because he was special. He didn’t need to compete for things when it came to him. His friend was too sensitive and too passive but not in a bad way. He would give him everything if he needed it...because they were friends...

“Hey, are you daydreaming?!” asked Rin confused and irritated. How could Sousuke daydream while he was about to race him?! Snorting, the redhead swam to the starting blocks, followed shortly by the other.

Both of them took their starting position and peeked at each other. 

“If you have problems after jumping, stop immediately, okay?” said Rin with a hint of worry.

Sousuke snorted. “Don’t worry so much, concentrate on the race otherwise you’ll get beaten by me”, he replied teasingly.

“Tch. Let’s see.”

Rin was slowly announcing the countdown, 3…2…1…go! 

And within an instant both leaped into the water, touching its surface almost at the same time. Sousuke swam as fast as he could. His stroke was strong and wild, almost ferocious while Rin swam with the precision and grace he trained for years. After the first meters the redhead outpaced him easily. Of course there was no way that the dogboy could beat him. On the one hand Rin who had trained for years, every day, as hard as he could while reaching his inner limit, on the other hand Sousuke who swam for the second time in his life.   
Nevertheless he could feel the other’s determination and fighting spirit. It encouraged him to do his best. Peeking at him from the corner of his eyes, he could see the blue flame in his teal eyes and the strong will behind it. Man it was really a long time since he felt this way. The feeling of a real challenge, a real race... He only felt like this when he swam against Haru and now Sousuke was making him feel the same way. It was great because it was somehow different. He couldn’t quite describe it but it was, and it was incredible. 

After finally touching the other side of the pool, he made use of his lead by watching the dogboy for the remaining seconds.   
The sight was unfamiliar but amazing at the same time. His stroke was nothing like the ones he knew and it looked completely different, but not in a bad way. It was powerful, strong, his arms were dividing the water by pure force. It matched Sousuke’s character and Rin had to smile at this thought.   
When the dogboy arrived at his side, he was breathing heavily. Ripping of the goggles and swim cap, he leaned on the cool pool side and eyed his human. Rin's stroke was as strong as ever, fluent and full of energy. Now he could understand why Gou once said that her brother was like a shark in water because a few moments ago he exactly looked like it. Red shark. 

When this idea hit Sousuke, he couldn’t suppress his laugh. He felt great, alive, and he wasn’t even grumpy or sad because of his loss. He was grateful that his human took him seriously and did his best.   
Eyeing the redhead, he noticed that the other wasn’t exhausted like him. Instead he grinned toothy at him and lifted his fist, ready to fist bump him. Smiling broadly, Sousuke touched his fist in their usual way. Both looked at each other and smiled. Words weren’t needed in this moment because the two of them felt the same. After a few seconds, Rin cleared his throat and said cheerfully, “That was awesome, let’s do this another time! Wanna go back home?”

Sousuke could only nod. He was still adjusting his breathing but at least he didn’t pant anymore. Both left the pool and walked slowly over to the bench. 

In the locker room, Rin rummaged through the backpack in search of his hair shampoo and conditioner. Meanwhile the black haired dogboy waited patiently by his side, already used to the delicate topic of Rin’s body care. His human didn’t show it openly but he cared a lot about his outer appearance and hygiene. He had a whole variation of conditioners and deodorants, letting his perfume collection aside. When Sousuke accidentally went into the redhead’s bathroom he gaped unwillingly. There were so many bottles and little tubes on the mirror cabinet that you could almost think that it was the shelf of a drugstore or the work of his sister….but no…this was Rin’s bathroom and when he turned around to see Sousuke at the entrance he spluttered wildly and waved with his arms around trying to explain the whole sight. Of course the dogboy noticed his embarrassment and grinned. It wasn’t a bad thing that he paid so much attention to his body care, actually it was somehow cute but Sousuke didn’t say it. He remained silent and walked out of the room, hearing still the flustering explanations of his human behind him.  
And so it was nothing new that Rin took his sweet time for preparing his shower utensils. The good thing was that Sousuke already held his shampoo and body soap in his hands. He took their towels over his shoulder and looked at the red mop of hair. When Rin finally found the things he was looking for, he took one of the towels and both walked over to the showers. 

It was a big shower room with more than 10 showers however without any barriers between each one, but both were male so it really didn’t matter. There was nothing the other didn’t have too, right?  
Well so Rin thought, but when he rubbed his head while applying the shampoo, he couldn’t stop himself from peeking at the other. The black haired dogboy peeled his jammers down, now stark naked, and began to wash himself. Rin’s eyes fell on his muscular back, littered with scars, and followed down along the curve of his spine. The human had to swallow hard when he saw the long black tail and under it two round butt cheeks. They looked firm but soft at the same time and Rin had to turn his face away otherwise he would create a problem of his own. He could already feel how his cheeks became hot and his heart skipped a beat therefore he scrubbed his head even harder and turned the shower temperature down.  
Slightly shivering he tried to pin his eyes on the light blue tiles while cleaning himself as fast as he could.   
Sousuke didn’t notice the other’s eyes. He was busy with protecting his ears from the water droplets. From time to time he peeked at his human, enjoying the sight of smooth skin and ripped muscles but he knew when it was time to look elsewhere. So he suppressed his growing grin and wagged slowly from side to side. 

When both left Iwatobi SC returns, Rin fumbled with his cell phone while walking to his car. 

“Haru sent me a message, he wants me to teach Makoto backstroke”, announced the redhead surprised.

With big eyes Sousuke looked at his human. Makoto…and swimming? Could he even…? He thought he was afraid of water? Frowning, Sousuke crossed his arms thoughtfully.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry, I’m a good teacher!” said Rin when he noticed the other’s expression.

The dogboy grumbled and replied, “It’s not about that. I thought Makoto was afraid of water.”

“Oh…well maybe Haru relieved his fear because his message said that both were at the ocean this afternoon and swam there but he couldn’t teach Makoto backstroke so he was asking me.”

“I see…” Somehow Sousuke still couldn’t like Haru and it irritated him that this human could influence Makoto so much but on the other side…well he was the same so he couldn’t say anything, could he?

“How about tomorrow? You can come with us, it’s been a while since you last saw Makoto, right?”

By the thought of meeting Makoto again, Sousuke’s tail began to wag happily. Cursing inside, because now the redhead grinned at him smugly already knowing his answer, the dogboy mumbled grumpily, “Okay”.

Arriving at home, Sousuke slumped down on the couch, feeling completely exhausted. A sharp pain in his shoulder let him hiss softly. Rubbing his right shoulder, he sighed. He overdid it. Shit. Slowly standing up, he trotted into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed some ice cubes out of the freezer compartment and put them into a plastic bag. Then he took one of the towels and wrapped it around it. Cooling it would help him enough but it would be better if Rin didn’t see him like this otherwise he would feel responsible for it. So Sousuke walked upstairs into his room and lay down on his bed. Putting the ice pack on his shoulder, he sighed contently. It felt a lot better, at least the pain was weakened. Closing his eyes, he reminisced.   
This day was full of surprises. He would have never thought that he would swim like that again, and that he would like it… and the feeling he had when he swam with Rin by his side…  
Smiling absent mindly, he didn’t notice that sleep was already approaching him.

After Rin had unpacked his backpack, putting the used towels into the clothes basket and returning his hair conditioners to their usual place, he entered the living room and was surprised that he didn’t found the dogboy on the couch. Scratching his head he walked upstairs in search of Sousuke. Maybe he went to his room because he was totally exhausted? Knocking softly on the door, Rin asked,

“Sousuke? Sousuke are there? I’m coming in.”

Slowly opening the door, he saw the black haired dogboy on his bed still fully dressed and sleeping. Seriously at least he could have changed before falling asleep, thought the redhead. When he came nearer to his sleeping friend, he noticed the filled towel on the other’s shoulder. He lifted it and felt the coldness through the fabric. Frowning, he looked at the shoulder and asked himself if he was allowed to look at it clearly but…he didn’t want to irritate the dogboy because he knew that Sousuke valued his privacy. Therefore he shook him slightly to wake him up while calling “Sousuke, Sousuke wake up, hey…”  
Blinking a few times to adjust his vision, drowsy teal eyes met worried red ones.

“Huh?”

“Sousuke, does your shoulder hurt?” asked Rin concerned.

He looked drowsily at his humans hands and saw the familiar towel. Cursing inside, he answered, “Only a little bit, nothing bad.”

“You can tell me that, you know!” 

Sitting up, Sousuke eyed the redhead and scratched his ears. “Hey, I didn’t tell you because it isn’t a big deal and… I know you would feel responsible although you aren’t.”

Rin crossed his arms. “Sousuke, you remember our promise, no secrets, understand? Now stand up, I have some soothing ointment I can give you, then I massage your shoulder. This will help more than this ice pack.”

Turning around, his human left the room. With big eyes the dogboy looked after him. The string of surprises still didn’t end. And wait…did he say massage?! His tail wagged nervously from side to side. Massage… Suppressing the creeping blush on his cheeks, he ruffled his hair and stood up. Man it was only a massage, nothing more, don’t freak out, he told himself.

Arriving at the living room, his human had already prepared everything. The soothing ointment was lying on the couch table, accompanied by some bandages and tapes. Patting on the couch, Rin looked at the dogboy encouragingly, “Come on, I prepared everything.”

Sousuke sat shyly down. His thoughts couldn’t build sentences anymore, they were only composed of single words: massage…Rin…hands…  
He was nervous and excited at the same time. 

Clearing his throat, his human said bluntly, “You have to remove your shirt, you know?”

Shaking his incoherent thoughts away, he hesitantly lifted his shirt and undressed himself. He didn’t know why he was flustered, they had already showered together anyway, Sousuke thought. He was self-conscious and when he peeked at the redhead who became quiet all of a sudden he was even more. He was used to the appearance of his shoulder, the big scar and his scarred back but Rin didn’t say anything, he was too quiet. Man he had seen him at the pool the whole time, so why was he still surprised? Irritated the dogboy snorted and glared at Rin. 

Of course Rin had already seen the scars on Sousuke’s body, even the big one on his shoulder and it didn’t bother him, not anymore. He was thinking about how he could start, how he could massage him in the best way so that he would relieve his pain. Fixating the painful region, he reminded himself of the things his couch taught him when he had shoulder ache himself and which handholds he did. Lost in thought, he was interrupted when the dogboy snorted at him. Surprised he eyed Sousuke and noticed his glare. Was he sensitive about his scar? Did he hurt his feelings by unintentionally staring at it?

“Something wrong?” Sousuke asked grumpily. 

“No nothing. Is it okay if I touch you?” asked his human quietly back. He wanted to know if the dogboy was irritated by the expectation of being touched or by his staring.

“Sure.” Because you wanted to massage me, didn’t you?

“I’m applying the soothing ointment now. This can feel cold”, announced Rin while opening the tube. 

He applied a good amount on the shoulder when Sousuke hissed surprised. It felt fucking cold, but good at the same time, the dogboy thought. Rin cautiously spread the ointment, paying attention to Sousuke’s expression. If there was any trace of pain or frowning, he stopped his movement and changed his direction of rubbing. He slowly pressed his fingertips on the other’s skin, testing how much pressure he could apply. Reminding himself of the tips his couch told him, he began to massage the shoulder skillfully. Sometimes he could hear a soft moan of the black haired dogboy when he rubbed certain parts but every time he asked the other if he should stop, he received the same answer, so he continued carefully.  
Sousuke had to admit that he enjoyed Rin’s hands. They were soft but firm, and he knew where he had to apply pressure and where not. He was curious if it was the first time for the redhead or if he did this regularly. And where did he learn all that? His head was filled with questions he wanted to ask so badly but he reminded himself that he had to control his possessive part therefore he tried to choose one question he would ask, nothing more.

“Where did you learn this?” Sousuke asked finally after cerebrating for minutes.

“Oh my swim coach showed it to me. When I had shoulder ache after swimming too much butterfly, he lectured me quite seriously and told me these things about taking care of my shoulder and so on. He showed me which parts of the shoulder needed pressure and how I could move it so it would ease the pain. The old man really knows a lot and now I can finally use my knowledge.” His human replied and grinned broadly. 

Surprised by the explanation, Sousuke looked at his lap. So he was the first one Rin massaged? He liked this thought, being the first one. He couldn’t suppress the small smile on his lips. Being the first one was nice, it felt good, he was proud being the first one. He repeated these words over and over in his mind and didn’t notice the light blush on his cheeks. At the same time he became more sensitive to Rin’s touch. He could clearly feel the fingertips on his skin, leaving hotness and tingling behind. A shiver ran over his spine. Now he smelled the familiar scent of his human even more intense and the light pressure on his back. Shit, this was bad…his heart was beating fast, his skin was on fire and the other’s scent was intoxicating. Breathing heavily, he abruptly opened his eyes and turned around.

“I think it’s enough Rin, thank you”, he said rapidly and stood jerkily up. Putting on his shirt, he left the living room and went into the kitchen. He was thirsty, he needed something cold to ease this heat in him.

“Eh okay…No problem Sousuke”, replied Rin astonished and looked after the dogboy. He noticed the bright blush on the other’s cheeks and tilted his head in confusion. Did he do something wrong? Of course the situation was extraordinary but…

Rin blinked a few times and slumped down on the couch. So he wasn’t the only one who felt this odd electricity between them? He couldn’t deny that he unintentionally checked the other out and he couldn’t deny either that he didn’t enjoy the other’s appearance but he was his friend and friends didn’t feel like this for each other. He didn’t even know if this was a simple attachment, or a crush, or the big feeling every body was talking about and chasing after. Gosh he was so stupid, Sousuke was only flustered because he wasn’t used to being touched, that was all. It was the most obvious reason, understandable and here he was reading too much into it. 

Shaking his head he smacked his forehead. “Man sometimes I can be really dump”, he mumbled to himself and stood up. Following the dogboy into the kitchen, he briefly eyed the other and also took a soft drink out of the fridge. Taking a big gulp, he sighed contently.

“Man that really hit the right spot”, exclaimed the redhead while wiping his mouth with the backside of his hand.

Sousuke only nodded and took another sip. Good thing that he had calmed down. Peeking at his human, he stared at the Adam’s apple bopping up and down. He was interrupted when Rin spoke again.

“We meet Haru and Makoto at Iwatobi SC in the next few days, okay? I’ll ask Nagisa too so he doesn’t complain in the end. Then you can finally meet him.”

The dogboy hummed as response and thought about the next day. With wagging tail he took a last gulp and threw skillfully the can into the waste bin. With a loud clang it dropped down and he smiled smugly. Watching the whole scene Rin grinned toothy. He also took the last gulp and followed Sousuke’s action. With a victorious grin, he looked at the dogboy and said cheerfully,

“Let’s watch this one movie about the CIA agent who lost his family and took revenge.”

Sousuke’s eyes sparkled for a brief moment and both went at a good pace into the living room.


	13. First Swim Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter yay! Sorry it took me so long but I'm sick at the moment and my mind didn't want to work properly ε-(≖д≖﹆)  
> I hope you like the new chapter (*´∀`*)  
> I don't know when I will update next time because I'll become really busy the next weeks but don't worry I'll try my best to write in my free time.  
> Thank you all for your comments and kudos! I'm really happy that you're sticking with this story (*‿*✿)  
> The OVA and certain official arts inspired some scenes in this chapter, hope you like it ヽ(。ゝω･)ﾉ☆;:*  
> If you have any questions, prompts or suggestions, please let me know I'm always happy to reply!

Nagisa was standing by the entrance of Iwatobi SC Returns, carrying a penguin patterned backpack and waiting for his friends to arrive. He was so excited to see his friends again that it was difficult for him to stand still. Shifting from one foot to the other, he stared attentively at the road trying to notice the others as early as possible. When he finally saw a black haired man and a brunette dogboy approaching, he smiled broadly and shouted,

“Haru chaaaaan Mako-chaaaan!” 

The blonde was waving wildly while bouncing up and down. “You’re finally here! I’m so happy to see you again! And that you invited me!” 

When both were near enough, their energetic friend tackled Haru first and then Makoto shortly after. Hugging the two of them with all his might, Haru could only frown while Makoto chuckled merrily. His human friend was already used to his behavior, it didn't really change over the years when they grew up, nevertheless he still didn't like it. On the other side the dogboy wagged happily and smiled broadly. He was glad to see his new friend again and he appreciated his way of showing his affection but it was still kind of new to him. He really tried to get used to it because he was happy to see him again but he couldn’t shake the lingering hint of anxiety away. 

“Hello Nagisa”, greeted Haru the blonde flatly, but the small smile on his lips gave his joy away. 

Peeking at his human Makoto could only chuckle. It was sweet how Haru was a little bit grumpy because of the sudden contact but still delighted to see his childhood friend again. 

“Ne ne, Rin and his new dogboy will come too, right?” Nagisa asked excitedly. 

“Hello Nagisa! Yes, Rin and Sousuke are coming too”, replied the brunette dogboy with a broad smile. 

“Yay! I’m so excited to meet him! Rin-chan already told me a few things but I’m just so curious!” The blonde blabbered excitedly while gesturing with his hands to underline his speech. 

Watching and listening to Nagisa, Makoto couldn’t suppress his own excitement any longer.  
He was so happy to see Sousuke again. It seemed like their last meeting was decades away even if both called each other on a regular basis but it still wasn’t the same. Nevertheless Makoto still hadn’t talked with his black haired friend about the storm incident. He fought with himself about telling or not telling it. On the one side he knew that he could tell Sousuke everything and that he knew parts and things of his life which Haru should never know because they were too shameful and were one of those reasons why he felt so dirty. But on the other side he didn’t want to tell Sousuke that he... He closed his eyes tightly. Of course his friend wouldn’t blame him, he would listen and encourage him to forget it but he didn't want that Sousuke would think badly of him.  
Makoto’s shame and guilt were still pretty vividly in his mind. 

Shaking his head his peeked at the two humans beside him who were talking cheerfully, well to be precise Nagisa talked the whole time while Haru nodded or gave simple replies.

 

Of course he knew that Sousuke was his best friend and he was important to him but some tiny little part of him was afraid, afraid that he might blame him or worse... break with him... It was irrational but Makoto couldn’t stop it, so he was running in circles trying to gain enough courage to tell the other of his incident. 

“Makoto.” A calm voice interrupted his thoughts. Blinking a few times he noticed blue and bright pink eyes looking at him. 

“Ah... haha sorry I didn't pay attention. Could you please repeat the question?” asked the dogboy awkwardly while rubbing his neck.

For a brief moment Haru frowned and said again, “are you okay?”

Surprised the brunette dogboy tilted his head in question. “Huh?”

Azure eyes told him the rest he had to know.

“Ah yeah don’t mind me Haru, everything is all right”, he answered with a big smile and wagging tail. He liked it when his human looked after him because it showed him that he cared about him and that he...mattered...

“Okay”, replied his human flatly.

“Awe you two are so cute!” Exclaimed Nagisa merrily and grinned. With a frown Haru faced his friend again.

“Hey don’t look so grumpy Haru-chan! I really mean it. It’s cute how you look out for each other. It’s really nice to watch.” The blonde smiled gently at both of them. Nagisa was glad that Haru found his special person. He could see the change in his behavior as clearly as daylight. Haru was more open now, talked more and looked in general happier. Nagisa noticed the confused and surprised eyes of his friends on him. With a bright smile he winked and recognized the arriving red sport car at the parking area. His eyes shone in an instant while exclaiming merrily,

“Rin is coming!” And within the next moment he dashed towards it. 

Rin could already see the approaching shadow. “I already told you about Nagisa…so…be nice, okay?” 

The black haired dogboy beside him snorted and crossed his arms. “What do you think of me…”

Peeking at Sousuke one last time, he opened his car door. He was immediately full body tackled by his friend who chirped happily, 

“Hello Rin-chan! I’m so happy to see you again!” Affectionately ruffling the blonde mop of hair, Rin smiled gently at Nagisa and replied,

“Yeah, nice seeing you too Nagisa. It’s been a while…”

Peeking at the redhead, the other answered in a pouting tone, “You never contact me Rin-chan! Only one email every now and then…We could at least skype or call each other!”

“Hey, I’m sorry okay, I was really busy.”

Switching his gaze from his friend to the dogboy who was now standing beside his human, Nagisa grinned. He let Rin go and faced the other directly.

“Hello! My name is Nagisa! Nice to meet you!” he chirped cheerfully while inspecting the dogboy from head to toe.

“Yeah…I’m Sousuke”, he replied flatly, overwhelmed by the blonde’s cheerfulness and presence. Although the man standing before him was several heads smaller than him he compensated this with his jolly manner and shining deep pink eyes. Somehow he had the feeling that he shouldn’t mess with him, his instincts told him that and most of the time they were right. 

In his mind Nagisa appreciated the black haired dogboy’s muscular body, his straight posture and his attentive teal eyes. The straight black ears and the black tail were also cute and matched him well, thought the blonde. He could understand why Rin chose him. He was different than gentle shy Makoto but not in a bad way, because he was also unique, special and Nagisa could see that within an instant. Grinning playfully, he was already curious how both of them would interact with each other and how they would react to his teasing. 

“Haru-chan and Mako-chan are already here. Let’s go let’s go!” cheered the blonde while encouraging the others to follow him. 

A few meters away Sousuke could already see the approaching brunette dogboy. He dashed right towards them with wild wagging tail and his biggest smile. Makoto stopped some steps away from the group and greeted them cheerfully. Sousuke could clearly see that his friend wanted to hug him so badly but considering his private space, the other dogboy shifted from one foot to another, suppressing the urge. Sousuke sighed internally and replied with a small smile,

“Hi Makoto, it’s okay…” And within an instant the brunette dogboy jumped at him and hugged him tightly. Gasping for air, Sousuke mumbled, “Hey, not so tight Makoto…You’re killing me!”

Weakening his hug, bright green eyes looked at him. “I’m sorry Sousuke but I’m so happy to see you again.” Makoto’s voice was as soft and gentle as ever. 

Even the black haired dogboy couldn’t suppress his happily wagging tail or the creeping smile on his face. Ruffling the brown mop of hair, he replied softly, “Yeah, me too.” 

Makoto’s smile became even broader and prettier by these words that the two humans at their side gasped in surprise. After a few moments the dogboy detached himself from the other, right at the time when his human finally arrived. 

Grinning toothy, Rin said teasingly, “Wow you’re finally here, took you quite some time.”

“I let Goro know that we are already here” answered Haru dryly and looked blankly at the redhead.

“Dude, at least show some affection if you meet your friend again.”

“We saw us 3 weeks ago.” 

“Tch Haru…that’s not the point!”

Haru turned around and walked to the entrance without another word. Watching the whole interaction with big eyes, Makoto said flustered, “Hey, Haru! Wait for us!” Then he hastily followed his human shortly after.

Rin only shook his head while walking in the same direction, at his side Sousuke who slightly frowned and mumbled something Nagisa couldn’t understand.

The blonde looked after his friends with a bittersweet feeling. He was happy for Haru-chan and Rin-chan, he really was but he couldn’t suppress this tiny voice in his head that screamed of jealousy. He wanted to have a special friend too, someone he could tell his deepest secrets, who wouldn’t shy away, who would love him the way he was. Of course Haru-chan and Rin-chan were his best friends and he wouldn’t change anything about their relationship because they were dear to him and he loved them from the bottom of his heart but this was…different. He could see it in the others eyes and somehow he felt left out.   
Should he…get a crossbreed, too? But he didn’t like how everybody treated them and insulted them. He saw it at the mall, on the streets, it was just too unfair, they didn’t deserve it and thinking about it alone made him nauseous… On the other side they were all so nice, when he thought about Makoto who was gentle and nice as a sheep and Sousuke who seemed grumpy but cared a lot about Rin…but did he really want to buy a friend?

“Nagisa, come on!” shouted Rin from the glass door.

Shaking his blonde hair and lightly slapping his cheeks, Nagisa began to smile again and answered cheerfully, “I’m coming Rin-chaaan!”

 

The time in the locker room was quite embarrassing. Makoto was so grateful that Haru reminded him to wear his jammers under his normal clothes otherwise he would have to change here with everybody else and that was far too much for him. Even now, when he was only wearing his jammers, which covered his legs entirely because he preferred it that way while his upper half was completely exposed, he felt really uneasy and vulnerable. How would Nagisa react if he saw his scars? Would he be scared? Disgusted? Would he pity him? Would he start to ignore him?   
Makoto was so scared that he tried to hide behind the steel locker doors but strangely enough the blonde didn’t say a thing. For a brief moment he noticed the saddest pink eyes he has ever seen but within a second Nagisa’s sad expression vanished and was replaced by a big smile. The dogboy was surprised by the sudden change which nobody else seemed to notice. Haru peeked at him from time to time in worry, studying his expressions for any sight of anxiety or uneasiness. On the other side Nagisa unabashedly removed his clothes and changed into his jammers without any sights of embarrassment or shame. When he was finished, he turned to the two dogboys and ogled them from head to toe.

While Nagisa admired Makoto’s and Sousuke’s muscles and body figure, Haru glared at him every now and then. The mere idea of others touching Makoto’s bare skin let his jealousy explode. On the other side Rin joked about Nagisa being out of shape, bragging about Sousuke’s powerful butterfly and their awesome race. The black haired dogboy had to hide his face behind the door of the steel lockers so the others wouldn’t notice his embarrassment. Sometimes Rin could be rather oblivious to his suffering and Makoto’s shining green eyes looking at him, full of honest admiration and joy, didn’t help either because now his friend was chattering about how he was glad that Sousuke could swim again and that he had left his fear behind and that butterfly looked so pretty and that he was really looking forward to seeing him swim. Sousuke sighed in defeat. 

“Of course we will swim together Makoto”, he replied quietly, trying to cover his annoyance.

“I’m so happy!” chirped the other merrily, not noticing that his wagging tail hit his backpack over and over again till it fell from the bench.  
“Ah!” Surprised Makoto turned around and picked it up, his cheeks were burning because of his embarrassment. Nagisa only laughed loudly and jumped onto his shoulders while shouting,

“Mako-chan! You have so much energy! Ne, can you carry me?”

Haru’s eyebrows twitched and he frowned. He didn’t like this idea, not one bit.

“Ah, I don’t know Nagisa…I don’t want to hurt you…” replied the dogboy flustered. Peeking at his human and then back to the other.

“Come on, I trust you Mako-chan!” answered the blonde sweetly, and how could Makoto deny such a request when his new friend trusted him so much? So he took Nagisa’s legs under his arms and said nervously, “H-Hold on tight, okay? And only a f-few meters.”

“YAY!” shouted the blonde excitedly and entwined his arms around the other’s neck. Makoto carried him piggyback and walked up and down the locker room while Nagisa cheered loudly. Of course the blonde noticed annoyed blue eyes on him and he had to grin internally by the sight. His friend was just too obvious in this manner. Haru watched the whole scene with growing irritation and annoyance.   
Crouching on the ground, the dogboy gently put the blonde back on the bench. His face was bright red because of the exertion and embarrassment.   
When Nagisa sat on the bench again, he thanked Makoto with a big grin and bounced over to his frowning friend. Protecting his words from the others, he whispered into his ear, “Don’t worry Haru-chan, Makoto can carry you next” in a smug and playful tone that Haru looked at him with big eyes and a light blush on his cheeks. 

“Don’t be shy”, added the blonde and winked. Turning to the still blushing dogboy, he said merrily, “Mako-chan, I think Haru-chan wants to be next!”

Makoto looked at his human in surprise, blinking a few times to process Nagisa’s words. Haru wanted to…he and Haru…he carrying…? The dogboy shrieked embarrassed and hid his face behind his hands. How could he…and Haru? He couldn’t finish his thoughts properly.  
Pleased with Makoto’s reaction, Nagisa eyed Haru curiously and waited for his response. His friend was studying the steel lockers, trying to evade the other’s eyes at all costs. 

Makoto should…carry him? He didn’t mind because it was Makoto and he trusted him but… maybe he was too heavy? He didn’t want to strain the dogboy. Peeking briefly at the brunette, he noticed his bright red face and the blush that was already spreading to his neck. How cute. His eyes grew a fraction wider. This was definitely not the time to think about Makoto’s cute blushing face. Taking a few steps forward, Haru laid softly one hand on the dogboy’s shoulder and said quietly, 

“You don’t have to, nobody is forcing you.”

When Makoto felt the light weight on his shoulder, he shivered unintentionally and peeked through his fingers. Haru was standing before him. Calm blue eyes met flustered green ones and both talked in their own special way.

I would do it.

You don’t have to.

But do you want?

I don’t want to bother you.

“Haru…” muttered Makoto and dropped his hands completely. Gazing into the deep depths of azure, he smiled at his human who returned it with a small of his own. But I would do it for you.

“Geez, for fucking sake Haru let him carry you so we can finally swim!” exclaimed Rin annoyed arms akimbo. All eyes were now on the redhead who snorted and sat down on the bench. Becoming even more nervous by this, Makoto looked helplessly at his human, not knowing what to do. Haru meanwhile was fiercely glaring at his friend who twitched unknowingly. Haru’s angry glare was something else, therefore he turned his face away and waited for the others to finally do it. Sousuke frowned and eyed his human. Why was Rin so irritated? Getting an idea, he slumped down beside him and grinned broadly.

“Hey,” whispered the dogboy teasingly, “shall I carry you too?” Returning to his usual poker face, Sousuke studied curiously Rin’s reaction.

“W-W-What are you saying?! I’m not a little kid!” shouted the redhead scandalized but the light blush on his cheeks was visible. 

“Come on Rin, I can do it if you want”, replied Sousuke in a deep playful voice.

Oh gosh his tone is so unfair, thought Rin and looked at him with big eyes, blushing deeper. How the fucking hell could he sound like this when they were talking about carrying people and not…Rin gulped. He noticed the dogboy’s smug grin and punched him angrily but lightly in the stomach. 

“Shut up Sousuke!”

Sousuke laughed loudly, beating at the bench while holding his stomach. His human glared at him and stomped out of the locker room. Wiping away a few tears, he noticed that Nagisa was watching the whole scene and was rolling on the floor also laughing. 

“Sou-chan that was pretty funny!” said the blonde between laughing and breathing.

Sou-chan?! The black haired dogboy crossed his arms and frowned. “I’m not Sou-chan…” he answered grumpily. 

“Oh come on Sou-chan, don’t be such a grumpy guy”, replied Nagisa and smiled brightly at him, an expression full of innocence on his face. When he heard something like a snort beside him, he looked at its source and saw Haru hiding his mouth behind his hand. THE FUCK?!

“Are you laughing at me?!” he asked angrily and his frown deepened.

Haru eyed him with his usual blank face and walked past him to the door.

“Wait Haru!” Makoto followed him and poked Sousuke softly on his shoulder. “Come on Sousuke we have to go! Nagisa you too!”

“Yeeeeeaaaaah coming!” chirped the blonde and hurried after him. 

The dogboy was now sitting alone in the locker room and frowned. These guys were really tiring. Sighing, he stood up and trotted to the pool. Sou-chan…he repeated in his head and frowned.

 

When Sousuke arrived at the pool Haru and Nagisa were already swimming while Rin was talking to Makoto at the side of the pool. Slowly walking to the two them, the dogboy adjusted his swim cap and peeked at the black haired human in the pool. He had to admit that he looked amazing like this, swimming fluently like being part of the water without any struggle. Snorting, he turned his gaze to the blonde on the other lane who for once appeared concentrated and focused. Thanks to Rin’s lessons he knew that he was swimming breaststroke and it seemed as if he was quite skilled at it but not as trained as the other two of course.   
When he finally arrived at Makoto’s side, he peeked at the brunette dogboy and listened to Rin’s explanations of backstroke. 

“You can swim if you want”, interposed his human between his explanations when he noticed Sousuke’s presence. 

The other shook his head. “No it’s fine.”

“You are quite interested now, aren’t you?” replied Rin and grinned at him. The dogboy only shrugged and studied his friend beside him. Makoto was obviously nervous, fumbling with his tail while listening to his human, trying to absorb every word. Sousuke wanted to reassure him and ease his anxiety therefore he took a few steps closer to Makoto and looked at him with a soft smile.

“You don’t have to be nervous, Rin is a good teacher”, said the black haired dogboy quietly. Shy green eyes met his gentle teal ones.   
“Even if he doesn’t look like it”, added Sousuke and grinned. He could see how Makoto’s shoulders relaxed and how he giggled behind his hand. Relieved, he peeked at Rin who exclaimed scandalized, “What do you mean Sousuke?!”

The dogboy only shrugged and turned around, heading towards the pool. “If you need help, call me”, he shouted over his shoulder and waved. 

“Seriously this guy…” grumbled his human.

“Ah Rin-san…”

“Call me Rin”, interrupted the redhead.

“Ah, okay…Rin I mean…I guess you already know that Sousuke only teases the people he likes, don’t you?” whispered Makoto shyly while eying the pool, afraid that the other might hear him. He didn’t want that Rin misunderstood his friend’s behavior.

Surprised the human looked at him and was greeted with a broad smile. “And thank you for helping me.”

Rin rubbed his head, flustered by the sudden realization. Clearing his throat audibly, he faced the brunette dogboy again and continued his explanation.

Meanwhile Haru watched the two of them from the corner of his eyes while swimming his laps. He waited for the right moment when Makoto would enter the pool, and then he would approach them and help him, staying by his side. He wanted to be there, needed to be there when the dogboy would swim his first stroke otherwise he would feel like missing something very important. Somehow he imagined himself as a father seeing his son walking for the first time, whereas of course he wasn’t a father, Makoto wasn’t his son and he wasn’t even walking but it was bizarrely the same. Anyway he needed to be by Makoto’s side in this very moment so he studied the teacher and pupil in anticipation. 

When the redhead finally entered the pool, followed by a nervous dogboy, Haru immediately swam over to them. 

Surprised Rin turned around once he heard splashing sounds behind him. 

“Haru, what are you doing here? You can continue swimming, you know?”

“I’m staying” replied his friend flatly while eying the dogboy who seemed relieved after hearing his words. Makoto’s smile was genuine and his tail wagged from side to side, splashing water around. Haru felt like being hypnotized when he followed the movements with his eyes in concentration. Right. Left. Right. Left. 

Rin ignored his friend and talked to Makoto again, explaining how he should move his arms and legs when he swam backstroke. Suddenly the brunette dogboy shrieked loudly.   
Haru was holding his wet tail in his hands and inspected him with big eyes. He didn’t know why he had the sudden urge to grab it but he couldn’t control himself. Blushing deeply, Makoto apologized immediately.

“I-I’m so sorry for shrieking. I was just so surprised and…my tail is really sensitive…” He finished the last words almost in a whisper and hid his face behind his hands, trying to fight down his embarrassment.

Rin looked annoyed at Makoto’s back. “Dammit Haru, stop interrupting us!” he said angrily and glared at him. 

Haru let the dogboy’s tail go and turned his gaze away. He mumbled a soft “I’m sorry” and swam slowly to Rin’s side so he wouldn’t disturb the other anymore.

Nevertheless Makoto was grateful that Haru was present. He felt his fear vanishing and his courage rising. 

“Let’s try it. Wear your goggles and swim on the back, I’ll help you with floating. Ready?”

The dogboy nervously adjusted his goggles and turned on his back, then he lifted slowly his legs up and felt Rin’s hand on his back. The human helped him to float without much disturbance or problems. When Makoto calmed down, he slowly removed his hand and grinned. So he actually could float already, Rin thought and peeked at Haru who attentively watched them. 

“Let’s take another step. I’ll pull you on your arms and you try to move your legs like I showed you, okay?” explained Rin and walked to Makoto’s head.

He jerkily nodded and lifted slowly his arms upwards. The redhead gripped firmly his wrists and asked, “You ready?”

“Y-Yes”, answered Makoto nervously and closed his eyes tightly. When he felt the movement of his body without his doing, he opened his eyes in surprise again. He could see that his body was moving and noticed the slight pull on his wrists.

“Use your legs Makoto”, demanded Rin encouragingly.

The dogboy hesitantly moved his legs up and down, trying to remember what the human had said to him. 

“Yeah just like this, use a little bit more force.”

Following his instructions, Makoto was surprised how easy it was to move like this and how amazing it felt. He could see the glass ceiling of the pool and the reflecting sky. It was so…pretty…With big eyes and open mouth, he enjoyed the view and the warm feeling in his chest. When both arrived at the other side of the pool, Rin let his wrists go and said cheerfully,

“That was really good Makoto. Your leg movements were perfect. How about using your arms now? I can walk by your side and watch you. If you have any problems I’ll be right there.”

“Me, too”, added Haru who was now standing beside the other human. With serious eyes he looked at the surprised dogboy, showing him his support and encouragement.

For a brief moment Makoto thought about denying his offer but Rin and Haru were so patient and nice to him, they worked so hard for his sake therefore he had to overcome his anxiety. He didn’t want to disappoint them and…it felt really good, swimming like this. So Makoto took a deep breath and with a confident smile, he replied,

“Okay, let’s do it.”

With Haru and Rin by his side, Makoto had nothing to fear. Both instructed him patiently when he needed to change his movements and helped him when he was stuck or unsure. From time to time Sousuke would curiously peek at his friends, checking if everything was all right. Of course he knew that Rin and Haru would treat Makoto with utmost care but nevertheless he couldn’t suppress his controlling instincts. So when Nagisa and Sousuke finally finished their laps, they could watch the three of them without interruption from the pool side.  
Makoto’s stroke looked a lot more confident now. Rin was pleased with his result and Haru brimmed with pride and affection. Seeing the dogboy like this, having fun in the water without any fear or anxiety, being free, it warmed his heart, especially when he thought about their first steps. 

“That was so awesome! Thank you Rin! And thank you Haru!” exclaimed Makoto happily with wagging tail and broad smile. 

Rin wasn’t used to so much brightness and smiling, he rubbed his neck in embarrassment and mumbled, “Don’t sweat it…”

“Thank you Rin”, said Haru beside him with a small genuine smile on his lips. He was really grateful that his friend could help Makoto and he appreciated his effort.

Rin looked speechless at the black haired man beside him. He didn’t reckon Haru’s reaction and it surprised him, especially his smiling face because it was so rare to see. Ignoring the blush on his cheeks, he grinned toothy and peeked from Haru to Makoto.

“You have to buy me a good meal, you know”, he replied cockily.

The brunette dogboy chuckled and his human snorted once, equivalent to a silent laugh. 

“I think that won’t be a problem”, answered Makoto merrily and peeked at his human.

“Now can we finally play?!” interrupted Nagisa their conversation while swimming to their side.

He impatiently looked at each one of them, eyes full of anticipation and excitement.

“But what do you want to play?” asked Makoto curiously while tilting his head.

“Oh don’t worry Mako-chan, you will see it soon”, replied the blonde and winked. Haru and Rin sighed. Both knew that this couldn’t be a good idea. Using this moment of unawareness, Nagisa splashed a big amount of water at both of them. The two friends looked at him in surprise which rapidly turned into annoyance while Nagisa only laughed like crazy and dashed away.

“We have to teach him a lesson” growled Rin while he combed his hair upwards. Haru nodded solemnly and fixated the blonde with serious azure eyes. 

 

The following minutes both were hunting Nagisa with all their might. Every now and then Nagisa dashed towards the dogboys who were watching them playing tag and hid behind one of them. Because of their height and big size it was easy for him to fit but this was no reason for Rin and Haru to give up. When they reached the dogboys they tried to catch the blonde behind and between them so that Makoto lost his balance and plopped into the water. For a brief second everybody was silent and studied him attentively, when he began to chuckle and told them to be more careful, the game started again. While the humans ran towards the other side, Sousuke helped his friend up and frowned. 

“Seriously, what are they, kids?” he grumbled and looked in their direction. 

Makoto watched the whole chasing scene with big eyes and wagging tail. He really wanted to chase someone, too. It looked like so much fun.

“Oh well, it looks like fun…and everybody is laughing so it’s fine, right?” chuckled Makoto.

“Nevertheless they don’t have to involve us, do they?” Sousuke crossed his arms still frowning.

“Sousuke, don’t be so hard on them. They want to involve us because they want to share their fun with us”, replied the brunette dogboy while watching Rin and Haru jumping after Nagisa into the pool.

“Mhm.”

“Come on Sousuke, let’s join them”, proposed Makoto and smiled broadly at him. Sousuke knew that now he couldn’t refuse his propose anymore because Makoto’s smile was one of his weaknesses, alongside his and Rin’s tears. Maybe Makoto knew this…

He sighed and rubbed his neck. “Fine. And how do you wanna do it?” 

“Oh oh! How about we chase Haru and Rin?” replied Makoto excited.

“Don’t you think that we would interrupt their own game when we suddenly chase after them?”

“Hm, yeah you’re right.” The brunette dogboy tilted his head, deep in thoughts. 

Peeking at his friend, Sousuke scratched his ears. “How about we –“

He was interrupted when Nagisa tackled him with his whole body and held on to him. 

“What the fuck?!” cursed the black haired dogboy and eyed the mop of blonde hair. 

“Sou-chan! Help me!” pleaded Nagisa with big pink eyes. 

“Get off me!” he growled annoyed.

“Now you can’t escape anymore!” Rin and Haru slowly but surely walked over to them with a confident and victorious expression on their face.

“Sou-chan! Sou-chan! Run! RUN!” shouted Nagisa in panic and shook his upper body.

“Tch.” And within an instant Sousuke began to run for his life while carrying the blonde on his back who screamed excitedly, “You will never get me! Faster Sou-chan!”

“Don’t call me Sou-chan…” grumbled the other and ran around the pool.

Makoto looked after them flabbergasted by the sudden development. Giggling to himself, he enjoyed the sight of the two fleeing friends. 

“Come on Makoto, don’t let them escape!” shouted Haru over his shoulder while following Rin. For a moment the dogboy processed the words and then smiled brightly. Running after the two humans he couldn’t stop his grinning or his wildly wagging tail.

“Surround them!” demanded Rin and pointed at the other end of the pool. So the group split up and cornered Nagisa and Sousuke. Looking around, the dogboy tried to find an escape route but couldn’t see any opening. 

“Shit…”

“Sou-chan, don’t give up, there’s only one way.” Following Nagisa’s gaze he inspected the pool before him. Did he really have to…? Closing his eyes for a second he made his decision and jumped into the cold water with the blonde on his back.

 

In the end Haru, Rin and Makoto caught them in the pool when both tried to escape on their own. Outnumbering the others made the difference at last. Despise the loss, Nagisa and Sousuke weren’t sad or angry, they laughed with the winners about the stupid game, its outcome and enjoyed the cheerful chattering and bickering.  
After checking the time, the group went to the locker room heatedly discussing what they would do next.

When everybody else was showering, Makoto stayed on the bench in the locker room and waited for the others to finish. He tried to cover his anxiety by rummaging through his bag or stretching his strained muscles. Haru waited with him in silence, knowing that the dogboy couldn’t easily expose himself around others. Even if the both of them were alone together Makoto would hesitate to change his shirt. It became better but it was still not enough. His blue eyes followed the other’s movements attentively, judging his state of mind.

Meanwhile Sousuke didn’t question Makoto’s absence. He guessed that his friend still wasn’t able to change around people. At the animal shelter the brunette dogboy would demand him to turn around when he changed his shirt or shorts. Only after making sure that he followed his instructions, Makoto would begin to lift his clothes. Sousuke thought it was odd but he couldn’t deny that it was a quirk his friend got after several incidents.   
On the other side he didn’t mind if he changed around unfamiliar people because he didn’t want to hide his scars. Others should see what humans did to him and what pain they caused, therefore he was unabashedly standing beside Rin and Nagisa in the shower room, washing his hair and body. He noticed pink eyes on him for a brief moment but ignored it. Of course the blonde would look at his arms and back, he couldn’t even take offense at it. Most of the time his new energetic friend was talking about new special sweets or desserts he had discovered or complained about missing his chance to meet Gou again. Rin commented some of his statements from time to time when his opinion was needed. Otherwise the black haired dogboy stayed silent, snorting or nodding if Nagisa was asking him directly.  
Finally after taking their shower, the three of them entered the locker room again. In an instant Makoto stood up, towel, shampoo, soap and clothes in his hands, ready to dash into the shower room. Haru followed shortly after, carrying his own things in his arms and eyed the others for a moment. 

“Hey, why didn’t you shower with us?” asked Rin confused while holding a towel around his hips. 

“Waiting for Makoto”, replied Haru flatly and left.

“I think Mako-chan is just too shy”, Nagisa interfered and winked at him. 

The redhead shrugged and went to his locker. Changing within a few minutes, he rubbed his head while rummaging through his backpack. When he finally found the hairdryer, he searched for a socket and turned it on. Blow drying his hair carefully, he watched his dogboy who rubbed his hair with a towel.

“Yo Sousuke! Wanna use it after me?” The redhead shouted over the loud noise. The other shook his head and shook his damp hair with twitching ears. Rin had to grin by the sight, it reminded him of a wet dog shaking himself. Turning around to escape teal eyes, he hid his grin and finished drying. When Rin brushed his hair with a little comb, Sousuke stood behind him and eyed his actions curiously. He softly touched the last strains of red hair and said thoughtfully,

“Your hair has gotten really long.”

“Mhm yeah I know, I have to go to the hairdresser soon.” Rin looked over his shoulder while he spoke and studied the dogboy’s reaction. “Now I can wear a little ponytail, wanna see?”

Sousuke nodded and inspected his human’s skillful handiwork. After a few moments Rin turned around and showed him his little ponytail. The other gaped. Shit, he looked so cute and handsome like this, thought Sousuke, trying to regain his composure. 

Meanwhile Haru and Makoto returned quietly from the shower. The dogboy was already wearing his shirt and boxers while Haru wore a new dry pair of jammers. They walked around the others and busied themselves with their lockers.

Studying his reflection in the mirror, Rin fumbled with his hair and mumbled, “Man it looks weird…somehow…I’m not really used to this anymore…”

“Actually”, the dogboy cleared his throat and muttered hesitantly, “it looks…good…”

Surprised his human turned around and looked at him with big eyes. “Really?”

Sousuke rubbed his neck in embarrassment and nodded. “Yeah.”

Hearing his words, the redhead grinned toothy and replied merrily, “Thank you, but I really have to go to the hairdresser, otherwise I can’t use my swim cap properly.”

“Stop flirting you two”, chirped Nagisa devilishly while changing his clothes. Rin spluttered audibly. 

“W-What are you talking about?!” he said scandalized.

“Awe come on Rin-chan, it’s soooo obvious”, added his friend and bounced around, making a heart with his hands.

“Na-gi-sa…” growled Rin and jumped after him. Laughing merrily, the blonde escaped every time when the redhead tried to catch him. Meanwhile Haru and Sousuke sighed exhausted. Didn’t they already run enough? Blinking at each other in surprise, they turned awkwardly away. 

Makoto’s whole body tensed up in excitement and with sparkling eyes, he looked at his human. He still had enough energy to play tag again.

“You can play with Yoshi at home”, replied his human flatly. 

“But Yoshi is so small and I don’t want to hurt him or scare him. What if he doesn’t like me anymore?”

“He won’t dislike you. He already follows you like a shadow…But…” Haru came closer and eyed his friends while speaking, “If you catch Nagisa I’ll give you chocolate cake”, whispered Haru softly in Makoto’s ear. The dogboy tilted his head and watched the blonde while listening to his words. Twitching his ears, he asked quietly, “Chocolate cake?!”

Haru nodded solemnly with serious eyes. Revenge was sweet…and he would kill two birds with one stone: Making Makoto happy and getting his second revenge. 

“Okay!” shouted Makoto excited and dashed towards the running humans.

Sousuke noticed the whole interaction and lifted his eyebrows in question. Haru peeked at the black haired dogboy on the bench and sighed again.

“Now he won’t hold himself back. Sometimes he needs a love tap”, explained Haru thoughtfully and observed the three running friends. Rin was shouting madly “Why are we still playing this stupid game” while Makoto followed Nagisa full of excitement. When he finally caught the blonde after a few fail attempts both were laughing merrily on the floor. Lecturing Nagisa, Rin helped him up and patted Makoto’s shoulder, thanking him for catching the other. The three of them were chatting joyfully while walking back to the others. 

“I can’t believe that Haru-chan sold me for chocolate cake!” whined Nagisa excessively and poked Haru’s arm with his head. “But chocolate cake is delicious I have to admit…”

“Sorry Nagisa”, said Makoto shyly and rubbed his neck.

“Ne ne Haru-chan, how about we all get chocolate cake?” asked the blonde pleadingly.

Haru’s eyebrows twitched for a moment and defeated he turned his face away. Pleased with his reaction, Nagisa grabbed Makoto’s hands and cheered, “Yay we gonna eat chocolate cake!”

“But not for me, I’m on a diet”, said Rin dryly.

“And I don’t like sweet stuff”, added Sousuke grumpily.

“Awe you’re both no fun! Then how about you eat takoyaki? Ah by the way there’s a festival next week how about we visit it together?” With sparkling eyes and big smile Nagisa was switching his gaze from one to the other. 

“Festival?” asked Makoto curiously and looked at his human. 

“It’s like a big celebration with a lot of stalls. You can buy food and toys and play different games if you want. There are a lot of people, especially children and most of them wear traditional clothes but you can also wear normal clothes.”

Imagining the scene Haru described, Makoto’s eyes began to shine. “That sounds like fun…” he said softy.

“Ne ne Mako-chan? Let’s go let’s go!” cheered the blonde.

Haru knew that now he couldn’t refuse anymore, seeing Makoto like this, full of curiosity, excitement and anticipation, he would never destroy his hope, so he nodded and snorted “Fine.”

Sparkling green eyes were looking at him, underlined by an angelic smile. “Thank you Haru! I’m really looking forward to it!” chirped the dogboy merrily with wagging tail. 

“We’re coming too, right Sousuke?” said Rin and peeked at the other.

“Mhm”, he replied and nodded once.

“Yay! That’s gonna be so much fun! I’m so excited!” Nagisa bounced around hugging Makoto while babbling about things they would do, like eating candied apples or grilled squid, catching goldfishes, playing shooting games…

Makoto listened attentively, encouraging him from time to time to explain some games he was talking about or asking questions about culinary specialties. Looking at his dogboy, Haru smiled softly. He had to admit that he was also looking forward to the visit. He knew that Makoto would enjoy it and he really liked seeing Makoto happy.  
A loud growl interrupted Nagisa’s speech and everybody tried to find the source of the sudden noise. Rubbing the back of his head, the blonde explained awkwardly, 

“Eh, sorry that was my stomach. Maybe we can eat somewhere?”

The group looked at each other and chuckled.

“Of course. Man I’m hungry too, let’s go and find something”, replied Rin and grabbed his backpack.

 

The group went to the nearby family restaurant around the corner. While Nagisa and Makoto got their chocolate cake, Rin and Sousuke took Tonkatsu and Haru his usual mackerel dish. The bunch of friends chattered vividly about swimming and planned their next pool visit. The two professional swimmers were reminded that their break time was almost over. Next month they would start their new training regime and prepare for new tournaments.  
First Makoto listened merrily when Haru and Rin talked about their coach and his plans but after the discussion went further and further his smile faded away. He began to understand that when Haru would swim again, he wouldn’t be able to be with him, that he would be staying at home, alone, the whole day…  
Dropping his ears, he looked at his half eaten chocolate cake with big eyes. Somehow, he didn’t want to eat it anymore. Picking at his dessert, the dogboy let his thoughts wander. Since he was staying with Haru, he only left him alone for a few hours to finish some errands, but never for a long time and now thinking about being alone for a whole day…He felt terrible only thinking about one day without his human but if Haru would have to swim regularly again how long would he be left alone? Weeks? Months?   
The expectation was so unbearable that Makoto began to shiver. Before he met his human, he had no problems with being alone, most of the time he preferred it because it meant that nobody could hurt him, but now…He knew that Haru had to swim, it was his work, his profession…

“Makoto. Everything all right?” asked his human with concerned eyes.

Blinking a few times the dogboy smiled again and shook his head. “Everything fine!” Following the gaze of his human, he noticed his half eaten cake and began to shove the remaining pieces in his mouth. “Ah almost forgot I had something left!” he exclaimed merrily and chewed slowly the soft biscuit. He really felt like vomiting but he usually loved chocolate and Haru had paid for it…so he swallowed the bits one after another and inspected his clean plate. Haru was still eying him from the corner of his eyes while Nagisa and Rin discussed vividly shared memories of camping trips and amusement park visits.  
Makoto tried to hold himself together, he didn’t want to worry his human, he had to cover his slip of composure therefore he asked cheerfully the other two about attractions they had ridden with. He shoved the unpleasant thoughts to a corner of his mind, hidden as deep as possible. When the time would come he had to deal with this, but not now, and not with everyone present.   
Listening attentively to the funny stories of the blonde, interrupted or outlined by the redhead, he peeked at his other friend who slightly frowned. Makoto could see that he was thinking about the same things like he was. Trying to free his friend from this, he faced Sousuke and asked sweetly,

“Did you already visit an amusement park?”

The black haired dogboy blinked a few times to process that Makoto was now speaking to him and answered with a simple “No”. 

Even if it sounded a bit grumpy, his friend was still smiling gently at him, with a trace of understanding in his green eyes. So Makoto knew what was bothering him? Of course he knew, because he noticed the slight sadness in his expression and the brunette dogboy tried everything in his power to cover it. Sousuke knew him for years now so he could see it but the others didn’t seem to notice it because he observed the rest of the group secretly, not spotting any sights of concern or irritation. Makoto was skilled, really skilled…too skilled for his own good, noted his friend. They had to talk about this, later…

He watched Makoto for a little while longer with concerned teal eyes but didn’t say another word. Haru noticed this odd interaction and although he was curious what was bothering them he didn’t pry because if it was something important, Makoto would tell him, they promised each other that.  
So he returned his attention back to the others who were talking about the upcoming festival visit.

 

After everybody was finished with their meal and exhaustion caught up on them, they left the family restaurant. Walking back to the parking area, the whole group agreed to email each other about the exact date for their meeting and said their goodbyes.

 

Haru and Makoto were walking along the beach, enjoying the setting sun. Nobody uttered a word and in complete silence both watched the quiet ocean painted in every possible shade of red and orange. Makoto knew that he would never get tired of this view, it was so pretty and emitted such serenity he had missed his whole life until now. He witnessed so many new things and learned much more about himself since Haru picked him up, it was incredible. He peeked shyly at his human who was still looking at the ocean. His face was emotionless, but Makoto noticed the slight upturned corners of his mouth and the shining azure eyes, illuminated by the sunset. He was filled with so many emotions and feelings that he needed to tell Haru, show him what he was feeling so he tried to capture the other’s gaze by brushing his pinky against the back of his hand. Instantly Haru looked at him in surprise, not used to Makoto’s spontaneous body contact. Normally the dogboy would only initiate it if he was caught up in happiness and didn’t think about it but this time was different, he did it intentionally and somehow Haru felt this unspoken difference. He looked curiously at the other, waiting for him to say something.  
Makoto smiled gently at him and whispered softly, “I really like…being with you Haru. Thank you.”  
Embarrassed Haru faced the ocean again without a reply but Makoto could see the light blush on his cheeks and the small smile on his lips. His eyes became big when he felt the soft touch of Haru’s hand around his. He looked speechless at their joined hands, still not believing what his human had done. He almost missed the quiet reply Haru was giving him now.

“Me too” he mumbled while still facing the ocean, trying to evade these bright green eyes at all costs. Gosh he wasn’t a teenager anymore, but now he was feeling like he was back in high school with these fluttering butterflies in his stomach and his rapidly beating heart. They were only holding hands but he was so happy and overwhelmed that he could embrace the whole world and shout out his happiness. Feeling Makoto’s warmth through his fingers, he noticed the light sweat on his skin but he didn’t mind. He didn’t know if he was ready to face the other because every little thing would change his inner balance.  
Nevertheless after a few moments he peeked at the brunette dogboy beside him and gaped. Makoto was looking at the street before him with one of the happiest and dumbest smiles he has ever seen. His expression was so bright that Haru didn’t know what was brighter in this moment, the sun or Makoto’s smile. When he managed to tear his eyes off his face, he noticed the happily wagging tail and the light bounce in his walking. Haru couldn’t suppress his own smile therefore he faced the ocean again. While listening to the quiet sounds of splashing waves, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He enjoyed this moment with every part of his being. But when he heard the soft humming of a familiar song by now, he peeked at the dogboy beside him. Makoto’s smile was still there and as if he would sense Haru’s eyes on him he looked at the human beside him and smiled even more. He didn’t stop his humming but after a while they had to break their eye contact so that nobody would stumble.

Haru knew that his feelings for Makoto were different. Of course he loved all his friends, Rin, Nagisa, even their new family member Yoshi but there was some part which was only reserved for Makoto, something special and it scared him, not the feeling per se, but the possible consequences. He didn’t know if the other felt the same way or if he was only grateful for being treated nicely. Maybe he mistook his feelings because it had been such a long time since someone was this close to him. He was torn between recognizing his feelings and denying them. Maybe he needed more time to figure it out, maybe everything would solve by itself. Yeah, that was definitely the better choice: Waiting. He would never bother or pressure Makoto with this. It was his task to figure it out, being the stable support, the tower of strength.  
While Haru thought about his relationship with Makoto, the brunette dogboy hummed merrily his most favorite song and repeated Haru’s words in his mind over and over again. 

 

 

Rin and Sousuke were on their way home. His human was driving as usual and both stayed silent for most of the time but it wasn’t uncomfortable, more like the two of them were too exhausted to talk, well at least Sousuke. From time to time he would heartily yawn, infecting the other with it. 

Entering their house, Rin checked the time and said thoughtfully,

“Hm it’s still too early for bedtime, how about we watch a movie or TV before we go sleeping?”

Sousuke looked at him with tired teal eyes and replied, “’Kay” while scratching his ears. Trotting to the couch, he slumped down and took a deep breath. Finally home and finally something soft he was sitting on. Grabbing one of the cushions he placed it behind his head and sighed contently.   
Rin returned from the kitchen with two soft drinks in his hand and placed them on the coffee table. Then he took the remote and zapped through the different channels. Choosing another criminal drama, he slumped down beside Sousuke and opened the soft drink can. 

Both watched the series in silence while the dogboy didn’t really pay attention. His eyelids became heavier and heavier with every passing minute. From time to time he closed his eyes for a brief second only to immediately open them again. He couldn’t fall asleep on the couch, especially with Rin by his side so he tried with all his might to stay awake. He pinched his arm once when the sleep temptation was just too strong and it helped…for the next few minutes.

Meanwhile Rin didn’t notice Sousuke’s struggle. He was engrossed in the story he was watching. Propping his elbows on his knees he was thrilled by every development or plot twist. When finally the main fight calmed down, he leaned back, satisfied with the upcoming romantic scene. He would never admit it but he liked romantic scenes as much as action ones. Most of the time the hero would kiss the heroine after a fight or separation and sometimes he was really sympathizing with their conflict and feelings and when finally everything was solved and they would be happy together he felt happy himself. The good thing was that this time the story wasn’t too sad therefore he didn’t have to fear any tearful moments. 

Suddenly feeling a weight on his side and shoulder, he peeked at the source and his eyes became big. Sousuke was leaning on him, arms crossed and obviously asleep. His head was resting on his shoulder, slightly tilting forwards and his mouth was slightly open. Taking the whole view in, Rin grinned.   
The dogboy was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the couch while watching TV. It was just too cute. Of course he noticed that the whole day was quite stressing for him and yes he was already drowsy on the way home but still…somehow…he reminded him of a little child who played the whole day and fell asleep the instant he returned home. The redhead had to snicker when he thought about this comparison. Inspecting the sleeping dogboy a little bit more, he let his eyes wander over his face, now completely at ease and peaceful. Sousuke looked at lot more handsome without his frown, thought Rin while studying the other. He had already forgotten the series he was watching, too busy enjoying this unfamiliar sight.  
Noticing the others long eyelashes and rose colored lips, Rin gulped. He really looked cute like this, completely defenseless and Rin knew that he had a special privilege, namely Sousuke’s complete trust. Sousuke trusted him so much that he let his defense down and that he was the only one who had such an important role. Maybe Makoto was somehow similar, but Rin ignored this thought and tossed it aside. 

His gaze wandered over the black ears on the dogboy’s head that twitched every now and then. Studying the black strains of hair, he asked himself how it would feel if he touched it. Was Sousuke’s hair soft? Spiky? Bristled? Man he really had to know. Eying the sleeping dogboy, he licked his lips in anticipation. He slowly extended his hand, observing the other closely for any signs of disturbance but Sousuke was sound asleep. Carefully touching the tip of his hair with his fingertips, he gasped in surprise. His hair was so…soft…He touched the strains now with more confidence, following their length, trying to feel everything. Rin knew that he already liked this feeling. He began stroking his bangs away and inspected his forehead. There were some tiny wrinkles, probably because of his constant frowning, thought Rin, but it was getting better. Sousuke didn’t frown as much as he did at the beginning. Thinking about their first meeting, the redhead chuckled while stroking the soft black hair. Maybe he could…Biting his lip he eyed the other’s ears curiously. He hesitantly brushed his fingertips over the base of Sousuke’s ears nervously watching his face for any reaction. Relieved, he took a deep breath and stroked along the soft fur. Gosh this was really…fucking…cool…Touching the dogboy’s soft black hair and ears, it was really something Rin enjoyed to his fullest. He thanked his friends in his mind for this moment, or being precisely for tiring Sousuke to this extent that he could experience such a beautiful sight.  
But the question now was…should he wake him up or wait for him to wake up on his own? Checking the time, he decided that he would wait another hour and if he wasn’t awake by then he would wake him up, even if he didn’t want to destroy this precious moment.  
Zapping through the channels Rin began to watch some quiz show.

When Sousuke woke up, still feeling drowsy and tense, he noticed the warm cushion he was leaning on. The problem was it wasn’t really a cushion but his human. Surprised he blinked a few times to regain his normal vision and studied the sleeping redhead beside him. He was still holding the remote control in his hand and the TV was still running. It seemed like he fell asleep after a while too. The dogboy studied the soft expression on Rin’s face and the slightly open mouth. Grinning, he enjoyed the sight some more till he made the decision to wake the other up. He already felt tense so how would both of them feel when they slept a whole night on the couch? Worse of course. So he stretched his arms above his head and cautiously shook the other’s shoulder. 

“Rin? Rin, wake up!” He said softly but firmly. The redhead groaned sleepily and opened his eyes.

“You fell asleep.”

Rubbing his eyes, his human eyed the dogboy before him and yawned.

“Okay, let’s go to bed” he mumbled and turned the TV off. Both trotted drowsily upstairs and each one of them was sighing contently when they finally dropped in their bed.

 

 

A few days after their swim meeting Haru and Makoto were sitting in the living room, both playing with the little calico kitten when suddenly Haru’s cell phone rang. Checking the caller, Haru lifted one of his eyebrows while looking at the dogboy who tilted his head in question.

“Hello?”

“Hi Haru-chan! I really need your help! I don’t know what to do, please help me you’re the only one who can! Rin didn’t pick up and you’re the only one I can count on now!” His friend rambled rapidly on.

For a few seconds there was silence at the other end. Confused Haru looked at his cell phone for a second and replied worriedly, “What’s wrong Nagisa?”


	14. First Auction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers! I started the chapter this time with a small recap from the end of the last one (if someone forgot how it ended ヾ(*ゝω・*)ﾉ )  
> This time we focus on Nagisa, I really missed him and his counterpart but don't worry the rest will appear too (this time or in the next chapter) So I hope it's a nice change (´,,•ω•,,)  
> Please tell me what you think about the chapter and my intepretation of Nagisa, I hope I got it right and as always THANK YOU SO MUCH for the comments, kudos and love you show for this story, it always makes me happy ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆
> 
> P.s. smut will come, don't worry but we have to progress the story before that (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ but when it comes, oh dear...

A few days after their swim meeting Haru and Makoto were sitting in the living room, both playing with the little calico kitten when suddenly Haru’s cell phone rang. Checking the caller, Haru lifted one of his eyebrows while looking at the dogboy who tilted his head in question.

“Hello?”

“Hi Haru-chan! I really need your help! I don’t know what to do, please help me you’re the only one who can! Rin didn’t pick up and you’re the only one I can count on now!” His friend rambled rapidly on.

For a few seconds there was silence at the other end. Confused Haru looked at his cell phone for a second and replied worriedly, “What’s wrong Nagisa?”

 

 

When Nagisa finally arrived at home after meeting his friends at the swim club he slumped down on his couch and smiled. “That was really fun”, he spoke to himself and indulged in reminiscences of today’s afternoon. He had to chuckle when he thought about how grumpy Sou-chan was at the beginning and then after he nearly forced him to join their game he became more open and friendlier. It really had been a lot of fun.   
Nagisa stood up and grabbed his backpack. He slowly walked into the bathroom, extracting his used jammers and towels and tossed them into the hamper. Putting his shampoo and soap back to its usual place, he hung his swim cap and goggles up for drying. Inspecting his result contently he trotted into his kitchen and opened his fridge. He took one package of his strawberry milk collection out and searched through its content. His fridge most likely contained strawberry flavoured food like yogurt, milk and chocolate. Additionally he had some motchis somewhere hidden and of course Iwatobi-chan breads. Because of his sister who came from time to time over and complained about his eating habits, carrots, cabbage and cucumbers accompanied by a few bananas and apples finished its content. He noted in his mind that he needed to go to the convenience store the next day because he already used all of his eggs for pancakes. Closing the door, he opened the milk package and slurped contently on the straw. 

Then he returned to his living room and sat down on his couch, grabbing one of his cushions. He didn’t like being alone at home. It was just too quiet and he missed the noises and warmth of other people. Nagisa really liked company and sometimes he would beg his friends to sleep over so he wouldn’t be alone again. Turning the TV on, he hugged the soft cushion tightly. At least the TV or music helped. He had lived by himself for years since he moved out of his family home but he couldn’t get used to this feeling, even after so many years. Normally it wasn’t that bad but this day had been so much fun that now he felt even lonelier without his friends. 

Slurping at his strawberry milk, he switched through the channels, searching for some comedy or anime series. When another channel showed some advertisements, his fingers stopped. The clip was about crossbreeds and some auction the next day. Nagisa fidgeted in his seat while watching cute catboys and muscular dogboys dancing around a board with the date and place of the auction on it. Finally when the advertisement was over, he returned to his senses. Looking at his half drunken strawberry milk, he cerebrated.   
Should he…visit the auction? He was curious, he had to admit that, but on the other side he didn’t want to see how people hurt crossbreeds or treated them badly. But…  
Nagisa bit his lip. When he was only watching, there was no harm right? Even if he didn’t have enough money for buying one, he could at least enjoy their sight, right? Yeah, there was nothing wrong with looking!  
Grinning to himself he drank the rest of his milk and forged plans for tomorrow. 

The good thing was that Nagisa knew the place where the auction would be held. It was in the next city a few kilometres away. Luckily he owned a scooter for emergencies when the bus didn’t come or when he had to go to some place where no public transports were available. It was an old pink yellow scooter some old woman in the neighbourhood had owned before and Nagisa was so lucky to buy it for little money. The blue stars on its side were his idea and he was pretty proud of it. Wearing his yellow motorcycle helmet with matching blue and pink stars on it, he drove easily through the traffic while enjoying the view. Of course everybody who knew the blonde also knew his scooter and so from time to time he waved at familiar faces with a cheerful smile.   
When he arrived at his goal, he took off his helmet and shook his blonde hair. Inspecting his surroundings, he noticed a lot of people in suits and expensive clothes entering the building. Looking down at himself, he frowned a little. He was wearing his favourite white shirt with a penguin motive on it, a pink jacket with white arms and grey trousers. He personally liked his outfit but maybe it would have been better to wear something more…dignified…  
Well in the end it didn’t matter because he was only here to watch the auction and there was nothing written that you needed to wear special clothes or something, so he stored his helmet in the storage space of his scooter away and entered the building with a cheerful smile and brimming confidence.

Following the mass of people, Nagisa went into a big hall, filled with hundreds of seats and people. In the middle of the room was a big stage enlightened by headlights. The blonde squeezed through the line of people, trying to find a seat in the front. Unfortunately the first ranks were reserved for special guests and he had to return to the mid level seats. Finally he claimed one seat in the forth row, quite close to one of the big screens around the stage. While making himself comfortable, Nagisa watched the staff of the auction who distributed little devices around the crowd. He eyed curiously the device in his hand, which seemed to be only made of one button. Maybe this was for the bidding later? Peeking at his seatmate, he noticed that the other was checking the backside therefore he turned his own around and saw a sticker with a number on it: 231. Well in the end it didn’t really matter because he was only watching, not bidding, thought Nagisa to himself and leaned back. 

After a little while a handsome man in a perfectly fitting suit went on the stage and introduced himself as the commentator for today. Everybody was applauding and quiet rumours went through the mass of guests. It seemed like this guy was kind of famous in this kind of events but Nagisa didn’t really care. His pink eyes were focused on the shadows behind the moderator. There were at least 10 crossbreeds in the dark, all lined up and ready for their presentation. After explaining the general rules and conditions, the moderator announced the first crossbreed. 

With big eyes Nagisa watched the screen before him while holding his breath. It was a bunnyboy with radiant white hair, two long straight ears and shining red eyes. The boy looked quite young and had the same statue as him, Nagisa guessed. The bunnyboy didn’t even blink once when the guests began to bid wildly. The price was rising so fast that the blonde lost track while studying the crossbreed. Somehow he looked indifferent and cold, noticed Nagisa with a frown. The bunnyboy looked more like a living puppet. Looking around, he tried to see if other guests noticed the same but was disappointed by their greedy eyes and creepy expressions. A shiver ran over his spine and with horror in his eyes, he looked at the stage where the bunnyboy was lead away by the commentator who announced the winner of the bidding. 

Maybe it was a bad idea after all. He felt terrible for witnessing such a scene and for being a guest and for…being human in general. How could they act like buying expensive paintings or antiques when the offer was a living being with a heart and soul? But the problem was that he couldn’t leave that easily because he was caught in his seat. The seats around him were filled with people, no way of escape. The blonde sighed and slumped back. He had to endure it till the end.

Following the auction with more or less interest, Nagisa saw crossbreed after crossbreed, one more beautiful than the other, but didn’t really pay attention anymore. He couldn’t shake this awful feeling in his guts away and with tired eyes he followed catboys, dogboys and even one hamsterboy entering and leaving the stage like in an endless circle. One of the last offers was a dogboy with blue hair and glasses. Nagisa blinked a few times when he heard the crossbreed speaking for himself. This was a first. Listening to his smooth and almost cold voice, he understood that the dogboy seemed to be rather intelligent, loved clean places and beautiful things. Paying attention again, the blonde followed attentively his speech. The dogboy was as tall as Haru, maybe even taller and wore a purple jacket and black trousers. His tail was twined around his waist so that it almost looked like a belt. His ears were straight and covered with blue short fur, the same colour as his hair. When the camera zoomed on his eyes, Nagisa gaped. His eyes were the most beautiful lavender he has ever seen with a spark of confidence and calculation that underlined his analytic voice. The dogboy had picked his interest, the blonde admitted to himself and with utmost curiosity he inspected the stage.   
At last the bidding began. It seemed that most of the audience wasn’t that interested in him because the offers were rather low in comparison to the others. Nagisa bit his lip. Maybe…he could… Eying the little device in his hand he cerebrated. Should he bid? He really liked this dogboy and he didn’t want that anybody else would buy him…so he closed his eyes tightly and pressed the little button. Opening his eyes again he could see the changed offer on the screen and grinned. Of course it was still too much money for him but maybe somebody would lent him something…like…Haru or Rin…Of course he would pay it back, that was obvious but otherwise he couldn’t afford the dogboy.

His grin vanished when his offer was outbid. Hastily pressing the button again, he eyed the screen with growing panic. It seemed like there was one person who wanted to buy the dogboy too because every time Nagisa rose his offer the other immediately outbid him. When the amount was too high, the blonde hesitated. He knew that if he really needed that money his friends would give it to him without batting an eye but this… he didn’t want to use them and he really wanted to pay the money back but with this sum he wouldn’t be able to, even if he would work for a lifetime, so he lowered his gaze in disappointment. With sad eyes he peeked at the screen again when the offers were closed. The moderator clapped in his hands and thanked the bidder while leading the dogboy from the stage. 

Nagisa couldn’t overcome his sadness even when the auction was over and he was sitting on his scooter on his way home. He really liked this dogboy since the very beginning and he blamed himself for not being able to buy him. If he had only money, if he was only rich, if he…drowning in negative thoughts, he slumped down on his couch and frowned. Usually it wasn’t his way, being pessimistic and all that, but today was an exception. Trotting into the kitchen, he grabbed a bowl of chocolate split ice cream and a big spoon and returned to his living room. He turned the TV on and zapped around. Choosing one of those spooky movies he liked, he leaned back and took a big spoon of ice cream in his mouth. 

He would forget this incident, sooner or later and chocolate split ice cream helped him. So he devoured the whole bowl while watching trashy movies. 

After a few hours he stood up and groaned. Holding his stomach he regretted eating the whole bowl. Slowly walking into the bathroom, he brushed his teeth and trotted into his bedroom. He lazily dropped his clothes and changed into his pyjamas. While groaning he crawled under his blanket and sighed contently. He loved his soft and fluffy bed which was filled with pillows and plush animals. Hugging his favourite plush penguin, he closed his eyes and sighed again. This day was really strange…and sad…He thought about the blue haired dogboy and wondered if he would sleep by now, or where he would sleep and who had bought him. With his head full of questions Nagisa fell asleep.

 

The next morning Nagisa felt a lot better than last evening. Even if he was drowsier than usual he turned the alarm off and bounced out of his bed. There was still a trace of lingering sadness in his mind but he forcibly shoved it away. He followed his usual morning routine: Using the bathroom, refreshing himself, brushing teeth, changing clothes, preparing breakfast and leaving for work. There was nothing out of the ordinary, everything was fine. 

Nagisa walked to the train station while drinking the remaining strawberry milk in his hand. In contrast to most of the people the blonde liked his work. His first years after high school he travelled around the world like he always dreamt. Of course his parents were against his plans but Nagisa could persuade them that he needed time for himself, that he needed to find his own dream, his own profession and therefore he wanted to travel the world. Both his parents accepted his choice but nevertheless didn’t like it. Over the time the blonde learned that if he wanted to do something, he had to say it and do it otherwise he would regret it. His friends Haru and Rin were a bright example. They pursued their dreams with all their strength and he wanted to do the same. So he remained strong against his parents and followed his inner voice.  
He had visited every continent he could think of, Africa, Australia, America, and so many more. While travelling he learned so much about people and their culture that he was astonished and amazed by every little detail and he also learned a lot about himself, for example that he loved people or that he didn’t like guacamole.   
When he finally returned to Japan, he knew what he wanted to be: He wanted to show other people how pretty and interesting his hometown was. How beautiful the Iwatobi shore at sunrise and sunset was, how much you could explore if you wanted, therefore he became a tourist guide. He travelled with people from all possible countries through the wonderful landscape and town of Iwatobi. He didn’t expect that he would have become this busy after Haru-chan and Rin-chan became famous. Of course everybody wanted to know where this little town was which produced two Olympic swimmers at the same time hence more people came to Iwatobi and Nagisa enjoyed it. He liked to talk about different countries and exchange his experiences with others. At the end of the day his clients would thank him for his enjoyable and cheerful tour and everybody left happily with a smile on his face. He loved it, making and seeing people happy. That’s the reason why in contrast to other people Nagisa enjoyed his work and as the days passed he almost forgot about the auction and the lavender eyed dogboy. 

 

One day after work he walked merrily along the shopping mall, peeking at the display while heading towards the grocery store. He really needed to buy eggs and new strawberry milk and some fresh bento for his meal. In contrast to his friend Haru, Nagisa could only cook simple dishes, if it was necessary but he tried to evade it as much as possible. The only dish he cooked on an almost daily basis was pancakes. On the other hand if he wanted, he could actually bake cakes or cookies but most of the time he was too lazy and instead bought the sweets.   
Before he entered the store, a mop of blue hair and blue ears caught his attention. Studying the person a few meters away from him, his eyes became big out of surprise. It was the dogboy he had liked so much in flesh, right before him, arguing with his new master…arguing? Nagisa tilted his head in confusion and listened to their conversation. The dogboy was talking to the little man beside him, quite older than he or himself. He seemed to explain something, waving with his hands to underline his speech or adjusting his glasses every now and then. But the man didn’t seem to listen, he ignored the dogboy fully and the frown on his forehead deepened with every spoken word. Nagisa could see that the man clenched his teeth and glared at the other. This wasn’t good. He followed their conversation with eyes full of worry. He could already feel that it was only a matter of time before the situation would escalate and the man snapped.   
The dogboy didn’t seem to notice his master’s growing distaste because he was still speaking while his tail wagged from side to side. 

Suddenly the man beside him began to shout at him, “Shut your mouth your stupid animal! You think you’re smarter than me?!”

“N-N-No of course not Sir, I only advised you that the-“

“I DON’T CARE FOR YOUR OPINION!”

“I-I’m sorry Sir. I didn’t mean any harm.”

“DID YOU THINK I BOUGHT YOU FOR GIVING ME ADVICE?! YOU’RE MY TOY, UNDERSTAND?!”

The dogboy shivered and looked at his feet with dropped ears. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to ignore the hurtful words. In a quiet voice, he uttered, “Yes Sir.”

The man snorted. “I don’t think you REALLY understand in which position you’re in.” He looked around and then glared at the dogboy. “You see, NOBODY is interested in you. You’re my possession and I can do with you what I want, where and when I want. You need some discipline, doggy.”

And within an instant the man punched the much taller dogboy in the stomach. With big eyes he looked at the man in shock and slumped down. 

Nagisa couldn’t believe his eyes. This man...he…really hit him…He hit him in the stomach…at the mall…with everybody present…  
Shocked the blonde looked around trying to find some people who would help the dogboy. But nobody paid attention, nobody. Everybody was going his way, walking around the two people before him without any comment. When Nagisa turned his gaze to the human and crossbreed again, he saw how the man slapped the dogboy’s cheek over and over again while shouting almost merrily, “I hope you understand now, doggy.”  
The dogboy rolled himself up while shivering and whining after each hit. Tears were running down his face clouding his glasses and vision. 

Anger grew in Nagisa. How could somebody beat this cute dogboy like this? And how could everybody ignore this scene? With raging fury in his pink eyes he ran to the dogboy’s side and tackled the man with all his strength. The other fell on the floor without any time to put a damper on his fall.   
Nagisa was now towering over the man, feeling anger and fury in every part of his body. He pinned the other with his glare down and shouted at him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Stop hurting this poor guy! He didn’t do anything wrong!” 

When the man quivered under him, the blonde exhaled slowly and turned his attention to the dogboy beside him. He carefully walked over to him and knelt down. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked in a whisper, as soft and sweet as he could.

The dogboy blinked a few times, trying to see the person before him, but his glasses were dirtied with tears and snort. Taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes, the dogboy looked into shining pink orbs full of concern and kindness.

I-I guess…” replied the crossbreed hesitantly while cleaning the glasses with the tip of his shirt. Looking around he saw his owner lying on the ground, glaring daggers at the blonde man before him. He audibly swallowed and put his glasses on, and then he bowed formally while apologizing several times.   
It would seem that the dogboy regained his composure but Nagisa noticed his trembling hands and shaking knees. He could clearly see that the poor crossbreed was deeply hurt by the man’s actions. Nevertheless he walked over to his owner and helped him up. The man looked at him with despise and turned his gaze to the blonde. 

“This will have consequences for you, boy! How do you dare to attack me?!” exclaimed the man angrily. 

Nagisa didn’t believe his ears. This guy was seriously asking him why he pushed him? For real? 

“At least apologize blondy!”

This was the final straw. Now Nagisa’s last bit of restraining broke completely. If his eyes weren’t intimidate before, now they were death itself. The bright pink colour turned into something darker, hollow, and threatening. Even the man could feel a sudden shiver over his skin when he saw the change in the other’s expression. The blonde strolled towards the man and stopped right before him. Out of reflex the other took a step back. 

“Y-You can’t scare me!” stuttered the man with big eyes.

“Oh, I don’t want to scare you” replied Nagisa sweetly as honey but the dangerous spark in his eyes was still visible, “I tried to explain you what you did wrong.”

“I-I did nothing wrong!” answered the man anxiously.

“Silence” hissed Nagisa dangerously and within an instant the man shut his mouth. “If you can’t keep your mouth shut I’ll sew it up. With your attitude you’re not allowed to own a crossbreed, abusing your position like that! And now go away!”

The blonde finished his speech with another death glare and turned towards the dogboy who watched the scene with big eyes.

“Come with me.” He didn’t ask the other but instead grabbed his wrist and dragged him along. The man stood still for a few moments until he regained some of his consciousness and followed the two. 

“Hey! Stop it! I own him!” He shouted after them but Nagisa didn’t listen. He ignored the terrible voice of this terrible man and kept on walking. 

“I-I think he’s right mister, he owns me…” said the dogboy nervously.

“I don’t care, he treated you badly and he doesn’t deserve you” answered the human earnestly. 

The dogboy’s ears twitched. These words were so…kind…Inspecting the human a little bit closer, he noticed that he was a few heads smaller than him but his appearance compensated his lacking height. His blonde hair was more like a bird nest all curly and unruly. When he took a quick sniff, he smelled something sweet. Looking at the blonde mop of hair, he asked himself how somebody could smell this sweet and delicious. 

“Hey stop already!” shouted the angry man behind them. 

Nagisa’s eyebrows twitched. His patience was almost non existent and this man provoked him to this degree…seriously…

He stopped abruptly and turned around. With grand strides he walked over to the man and looked him right in the eye.

“If you want to leave this place unharmed, leave us alone otherwise I can’t guarantee for your safety” said Nagisa sweetly while tilting his head. But his sight was so terrifying that the man shuddered and remained silent so the blonde turned around, took the dogboy’s hand and lead him outside. From far away he could hear the last words of the man “This will have consequences!” but Nagisa didn’t care. He did nothing wrong. He helped somebody.  
The dogboy followed the human in silence, still overwhelmed by the events of the last minutes.

 

When Nagisa closed his front door he sighed relieved. Peeking at the dogboy beside him he smiled brightly. 

“I’m sorry that our introduction is so late but I’m Nagisa! Nice to meet you! What’s your name?” he asked cheerfully.

The dogboy spluttered. He was caught off guard by the other’s cheerful and bright attitude, especially after this scene at the mall. Regaining his composure, he adjusted his glasses and answered, “A pleasure to meet you Nagisa-san, my name is Rei.”

“You can call me Nagisa, you know?” pouted the blonde.

“This won’t do Nagisa-san, we only just met and you’re a human and I’m…a crossbreed.”

“This doesn’t matter Rei-chan!” 

The dogboy eyed him with big eyes as if he was looking at something unworldly. He never met someone who said something like this, never and he didn’t know how to deal with this so he cleared his throat while thinking about the other’s words. When he finally noticed that Nagisa called him ‘Rei-chan’ he spluttered.

“Rei-chan?! We aren’t that close Nagisa-san!”

“But we can become close, let’s be friends!”

Friends? Rei blinked a few times and processed Nagisa’s words. He knew in theory what friends were but he never actually had one. Friend: 1.) a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. 2.) a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter  
3.) a person who is on good terms with another…  
So…did the blonde wanted to be friends because he wanted to support him, or because he had positive feelings for him? Peeking at the human, the dogboy cerebrated but in the end he could find a real answer. On the other side there was no negative aspect of being friends so why not?

“Fine, we can be friends if you wish”, replied Rei after several moments.

“That’s awesome Rei-chan!” exclaimed the other happily and hugged him. The blue haired dogboy wasn’t really used to body contact at all. He looked at the mop of blonde hair in shock stuttering weak protests like “D-Don’t hug me so tightly” or “Nagisa-san that’s inappropriate” but the human didn’t listen. Nagisa was just so happy that the other was by his side and that he was able to save him. Reminding himself of the incident, he inspected the other’s cheeks closely. 

“Does it still hurt?” he asked quietly.

At first Rei didn’t know what the other meant but following his gaze he got his answer and shook his head. “No it’s fine…”

“But we have to do something…like…disinfecting?” replied the blonde while tilting his head thoughtfully.

“I assume that disinfection would be a good idea.”

“Ah okay! We have to go to the bathroom. I’ll keep everything in my cupboard.” Without losing time, he dragged the dogboy with him who observed the flat with critical lavender eyes. He noticed that some clothes were lying on the floor, that the couch was covered in cushions and when they passed the kitchen dirtied plates were piled up beside the sink. Rei shuddered. He liked cleanliness and tidiness but on the other hand he judged that the human didn’t seem to care about these things. Nevertheless he couldn’t suppress the frown on his forehead.  
When both entered the bathroom which was somehow tidy in contrast to the kitchen Rei sighed relieved.   
Meanwhile Nagisa rummaged through the cupboard in search for the disinfection. He knew he had it, somewhere…

“Ah! There it is!” he exclaimed victoriously while stuffing the content of the cupboard back inside. 

Watching the blonde human, Rei asked himself how somebody could find anything in this mess and he had to admire the other for that, even if it was kinda odd. Nagisa took a paper towel and soaked it in disinfectant. Then he carefully touched the dogboy’s cheeks where the skin was torn. Luckily there weren’t a lot of wounds but he could still remember clearly how much the slaps must have hurt. 

“Is this okay?” asked the blonde softly while dapping carefully.

“Yes, it’s fine Nagisa-san”, replied Rei while inspecting the human closer. He noticed his long eyelashes and his bright pink eyes, filled with concern and…affection? He couldn’t quite understand what he was seeing and it bugged him. Normally he had answers for everything but now, this day as a whole was different story. 

“I’m done” announced Nagisa and smiled.

The dogboy really wasn’t used to smiles, especially genuine ones. Flustered he turned his face away and looked at his lap. 

“Are you hungry?” asked the human while cleaning up his mess.

“Actually a little bit” admitted Rei and watched his actions.

“Well I don’t have much at home because I was on my way shopping so I guess we have to improvise”, replied Nagisa and grinned. 

 

Both went into the kitchen and when Rei looked over Nagisa’s shoulder into the fridge, he frowned. There were 3 carrots, 1 old apple, a few packages of strawberry milk and cabbage. 

Embarrassed the blonde turned around and said while rubbing his head, “Eh maybe we order something?”

Adjusting his glasses, the dogboy asked back, “Do you have rice and seasonings?”

“Oh wait wait! I think I have!” exclaimed Nagisa merrily and rummaged through his cupboard. Extracting a package of rice he turned to his left and opened one of the drawers.

“And here are the seasonings!”

Rei took a step forward and inspected it. Humming to himself he answered, “I can cook us something, if you’ll allow me.”

With big eyes the blonde looked at him and gaped. “Seriously? You can cook something with this?”

The other cleared his throat. “Of course I can.”

Nagisa tackled the dogboy and hugged him. “Wow that’s so awesome Rei-chan!” he shouted merrily while rubbing his head against the other’s shoulder.

Rei sighed and tried to free himself from the human. “Nagisa-san, I would appreciate it if you would stop doing this.”

“Huh? What? You mean hugging?” Big pink eyes were looking into serious lavender ones.

“Yes, this too. And please release me so I can start cooking.”

The blonde reluctantly let him go and walked to the side. The dogboy took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses. Then he opened the fridge again and took all the ingredients he needed.

After several minutes Nagisa and Rei were sitting at the small dining table, admiring the fried rice before them. 

“That looks so delicious Rei-chan!” exclaimed the human enthusiastically. 

The dogboy got kinda tired of repeating himself so he accepted this new ‘nickname’ and concentrated on the food.

“Let’s enjoy our meal, Nagisa-san.”

Both were greedily eating their fried rice while Rei could still hold his composure and dignity, Nagisa shoved spoons full of rice in his mouth, almost looking like a hamster. From time to time the dogboy peeked at him in worry, making sure that the other didn’t choke. When the blonde tried to speak with full mouth Rei lectured him to do one thing, eating or talking, so Nagisa shoved more rice in his mouth until he was satisfied and then talked about how tasty the rice was and what a great cook Rei-chan was. The dogboy turned his face flustered away. Nobody had praised him until now and it felt really good but he had to keep his composure otherwise he would have problems if he returned to his real owner later, he thought to himself. 

 

In the evening a big discussion developed when Nagisa tried to persuade Rei to use his bedroom. The dogboy was content with the couch but the blonde insisted that he should take his bed, because it was way more comfy and he was the guest, but Rei remained unmoved. Crossing his arms the dogboy frowned and looked at the human. 

“I will sleep on the couch because I’m a crossbreed, you are the human and owner of this flat so you use your room like always.”

“But Rei-chan I really don’t mind! You’re the guest and you had a rough day so you need the comfort”, pleaded the blonde while rubbing his head against the other’s back.

Turning his face away, the dogboy replied, “No, I’ll take the couch.”

“But Rei-chaaaaaaaaan! Pleeeeeeease!” whined Nagisa with big pink eyes. When their eyes met Rei stiffened. His resolve began to crack. Something in these eyes moved him, and he didn’t like it.   
Turning away he repeated himself. Nagisa pouted as response one last time and trotted into his bedroom, grabbing a ton of pillows and blankets and presented it the dogboy.

“If you need anything, come and get me okay?” he said with a sullen voice.

“All right Nagisa-san.” Rei cleared his throat and continued with a light blush on his cheeks, “I appreciate your intentions but I feel better when I sleep on the couch so…please don’t be angry…”

“I’m not angry Rei-chan, I only wanted to make you happy…” Nagisa replied with a pouting face.

“Ah…eh…Nagisa-san eh…you don’t have to make me happy”, answered the dogboy hesitantly, overwhelmed by the other’s words. Nobody tried to make him happy in the past. His happiness was never an issue or interest.

“But you are my friend that’s why I want to make you happy!” The blonde’s eyes were filled with honesty and affection, underlining his words strongly.

A small smile appeared on Rei’s lips without his intention. He looked at the blonde guy before him, trying to convey his feelings.

“It’s okay Nagisa-san, I’m really preferring the couch….and…” Turning his face out of embarrassment away, he mumbled, “I’m glad we are friends.”

Within an instant Nagisa’s face lighted up. His eyes sparkled like gems, his smile was dazzling and the human wasn’t able to hold himself back anymore, so he hugged the dogboy for one last time and said happily, “Thank you Rei-chan! Good night and sleep well!” And happily he bounced towards his bedroom, peeking at the dogboy with a toothy grin.

Rei overwhelmed by the other’s reaction stood still for a few moments until he collected himself and walked over to the couch.   
This day was really full of surprises. First he went with his owner to the shopping mall, then he was beaten up and after that another human helped him and…kidnapped him? Actually, he really didn’t know what they were doing until now because…he already had an owner and Nagisa wasn’t…even if he kind of preferred the blonde, it didn’t change the fact. Would he have to return to his owner?  
With crossed arms and a frown Rei sat down on the couch.   
If he was correctly thinking, then he had to return. On the other hand he didn’t want to because this man treated him so badly since his purchase but he had no choice. This wasn’t the only time that he would yell at him or beat him but he had to deal with it in the future...  
Lying down on the couch and covering himself, Rei took shyly one of the plush animals and hugged it. This fluffy fur was really nice and the amount of pillows was odd but pleasant. Closing his eyes he enjoyed the cosy atmosphere and fell asleep.

 

The next morning Nagisa rubbed sleepily his eyes while the first sunshine enlightened his bedroom. The good thing was that he could sleep in because it was Sunday but otherwise he was so excited that Rei was staying with him that he really didn’t want to loiter away. So he bounced out of his bed and opened the window with a smile. Enjoying the fresh morning air, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he walked over to his bathroom and refreshed himself. Hearing pots and plates clashing, Nagisa tilted his head in confusion. Was Rei already up? Was he cooking again? Sniffing at the air, the blonde’s pink eyes sparkled. It smelled so delicious! Within a moment he left the bathroom and hurried into the kitchen where the dogboy was standing before the stove and cooked something. 

“Morning Rei-chan! What are you cooking?” chirped Nagisa merrily and looked over the other’s shoulder to inspect the food.

“Good Morning Nagisa-san, I’m preparing pancakes with strawberry cream and apple compote”, explained Rei with a hint of pride in his voice.

“WOAH! That’s awesome! And it smells so delicious!” replied Nagisa while grabbing the dogboy’s shoulders.

“Please calm down and change. Breakfast will be ready within the next minutes.” Rei’s tone reminded Nagisa of his mother and with a big grin he headed towards his bedroom and exclaimed happily, “I’ll be right back Rei-chan! Don’t eat without me!”

Rei shook his head and smiled softly. This human was really refreshing and it was nice to be with him. It was such a shame that he had to return to his owner. With a fallen face he looked at the brown pancakes and sighed. Sometimes he asked himself why he couldn’t be like the other crossbreeds: cute, submissive, never questioning. His life would be easier. On the other side he had a lot to think about and his owner’s well-being was always his first priority, even if he sometimes dared to talk back, he would only do this to help his owner, but it seemed that nobody wanted to understand that. He wanted to be the most beautiful and competent dogboy in the world, making his owner proud. It was his goal and he worked so hard for it nevertheless nobody seemed to notice it. 

“I’m back! Are you ready?” asked Nagisa cheerfully while setting the table.

Rei left his thoughts behind and finished their meal within an instant. Arranging the pancakes on the plate, he placed the apple compote right beside it and finished the dish with two big spoons of strawberry cream. When he turned around with the two plates in his hands, he saw the pink sparkling eyes and Nagisa’s open mouth. Cautiously placing the plates on the table, he sat down and waited for the other to do the same. The blonde impatiently sat on his seat, wiggling from left to right.

“Let’s enjoy our meal” announced the dogboy and relieved Nagisa grabbed his fork and began eating greedily. The compote and cream was just so delicious that he couldn’t get enough of it.   
While eying the human from the corner of his eyes, Rei took a bite without changing his expression. He knew that his cooking skills were really good, so it wasn’t surprising that the meal would taste delicious. 

After a few moments of eating in silence he said calmly, “Nagisa-san, I have to go back to my owner.”

The blonde let his fork go and with a loud clank it landed on the plate. With big eyes he looked at the dogboy in question. 

“Why are you talking about this now?” asked Nagisa softly and sadly.

Rei noticed the other’s change but didn’t consider it. He knew that he was right.

“I have to go back to my rightful owner.”

“But he beat you!” exclaimed the other indignantly and stood up.

“This doesn’t matter. He has ownership over me and I have to follow him.” Calculating lavender eyes were looking at Nagisa and he couldn’t take it. He wanted to be with Rei, he didn’t want to let him go. He couldn’t go back to this bad man.

“Rei-chan, we can find another solution okay? You don’t have to go back!” The human tried to persuade him.

“Nagisa-san…” uttered Rei touched by his words. Lowering his gaze he looked at his plate, being torn between doing the right thing and being swept away by Nagisa's words.

“I don’t want to see you hurt again! He will beat you again and I won’t let that happen!”

The blonde stomped out of the room and headed for his bedroom. Taking his cell phone from his nightstand, he walked back into the living room and tried to call his friends for help. When he dialled Rin’s number he could only hear the ringing tone on the other end. So Rin was not at home? Or didn’t take his cell phone with him? Depressed the blonde tried to call his other friend Haru. After a few ring tones Nagisa could hear Haru’s calm voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hi Haru-chan! I really need your help! I don’t know what to do, please help me you’re the only one who can! Rin didn’t pick up and you’re the only one I can count on now!” Nagisa rambled while walking up and down in the living room, lavender eyes following him with every move. He looked at the dogboy who was sitting at the couch and smiled, he would help Rei with all his power. He already liked him so much…

“What’s wrong Nagisa?” replied Haru in a worried tone. 

“Eh you see Haru-chan I somehow…well…” Where should he begin?

“I went to a crossbreed auction some weeks ago and there I saw one of the most beautiful dogboys I have ever seen and I tried to buy him but I couldn’t because I didn’t have enough money and I was really sad for a long time. Then I went grocery shopping yesterday and met this very dogboy at the mall with his new owner who slapped and punched him so of course I helped him and shouted at the owner. I grabbed the dogboy and walked back home. Now he’s standing beside me and asked me what we should do next because he is officially owned by someone else but I don’t want that he returns to this awful man and I really wish that he would stay with me and I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?”

When Nagisa finished his speech he took a deep breath. Peeking at Rei he saw a blush on his face he tried to hide. Tilting his head in questions, he thought about the things he said and noticed that he told Haru the whole thing about the auction and that Rei was beautiful. But that was only the truth. Was Rei embarrassed because of that? How cute.  
Grinning at the dogboy Nagisa enjoyed the other’s bashful expression.

After hearing Nagisa’s story Haru needed a moment to process everything he had said. Sometimes the blonde could be really overwhelming and now was one of those times. 

“Can I use the loud speaker so Makoto can listen too?” asked Haru while peeking at the confused dogboy beside him.

“Yeah of course.”

“Now let me summarize your story to a minimum: You helped a dogboy who got abused by his owner and brought him to your flat. It was the same dogboy you wanted to buy on an auction but couldn’t, right?”

While Haru carefully spoke Makoto looked at him with big eyes. 

“Right!”

“And you want to keep him?”

“Yes I really want to keep him!”

“And does he want to stay with you?” asked Haru calmly.

Nagisa’s eyes became big. Looking at the dogboy in question he couldn’t find an answer because he didn’t ask Rei. Ashamed he lowered his gaze and mumbled, “I don’t know…”

“Ask him” replied his friend immediately.

Slowly walking over to the crossbreed Nagisa stood beside him and lowered the cell phone from his ear. 

“Rei-chan…do you…want to stay with me?” In contrast to his usual behavior the blonde was now shy and afraid of the other’s answer. 

What would he do if Rei-chan didn’t want to be with him? Could he accept it? Did he unintentionally force him to be with him? In this moment Nagisa questioned everything while self-doubt filled his mind and heart.

The blue haired dogboy was still sitting at the table and followed the human’s conversation. When he heard the previous question, he had to hold his breath. Did he want to be with this human, with Nagisa-san? Did he prefer him? But he couldn’t leave his real owner, could he? Was there even another possibility?

Clearing his throat he adjusted his glasses and answered,

“Nagisa-san, I can’t be with you because I already have an owner.” He only told him the truth but something stung in Rei’s chest he didn’t feel before.

When Nagisa heard the other’s words something broke inside him. His eyes began to water and he tried so hard to suppress it but it hurt so much. Rei didn’t want to be with him, he really didn’t want it and it hurt. He thought that they were friends that they would complete each other but it was an illusion, everything. From far far away he could hear Haru’s voice calling him but he remained frozen. When the first shock was over, he remembered that he was still holding the cell phone in his hand and looked at it with blank eyes.   
Maybe he misunderstood Rei, maybe he didn’t ask right…Biting his bottom lip he eyed the dogboy again with a spark of hope in his gaze.

“And what if you had the choice, what would you do? If you don’t think about ownership and the complicated stuff but only listen to your heart, where do you want to be?” 

Pink shimmering eyes were studying him and Rei was speechless for once. Where did he want to be? He never had the opportunity to choose. The only thing he knew was following his owner or his calculations, but if he excluded one option then that meant that he had to calculate the solution…But how? Which factors mattered? Money? Living circumstances? Feelings? Rei shuddered.   
Normally he would never follow his feelings, feelings were products of his body, they were irritating and misleading, he couldn’t trust them, too fickle. Crossing his arms and closing his eyes in concentration Rei cerebrated.

Meanwhile Nagisa was eying him anxiously. Rei-chan took so long to make his decision, where was the problem? Was it really that difficult? He only had to follow his heart…

The dogboy’s tail wagged from side to side. If he excluded the ownership from the case then he wouldn’t return to this man, he concluded. But on the other side did he want to stay with Nagisa-san? He had to admit that he treated him nicely, sometimes lacking respect but this was disputable. Additionally he let him keep his own private space and opinion in contrast to the other humans he got to know. So the answer was obvious but the stung in his chest when he saw the other’s sad face had nothing to do with it, and Nagisa-san’s beautiful smile wasn’t a factor either, Rei underlined in his mind. Nodding once he opened his eyes again and with new found confidence he said, “I’ll want to be with you Nagisa-san! This is the result of my calculations!”

“Calculations?” asked the blonde confused but was nevertheless totally happy with his answer.

Adjusting his glasses Rei explained, “I summarized the various factors in my mind that may be important for my future life. Then I had to categorize each factor and their counterpart to choose the most accurate and best. There a diff-“

His speech was interrupted when Nagisa hugged him tightly while exclaiming happily, “I’m so happy Rei-chan! I knew you would stay with me! I’m so glad!”

The dogboy spluttered and looked embarrassed at the human. “Nagisa-san, I told you I’m not used to this kind of body contact.”

“Then you will get used to it Rei-chan!” Nagisa replied playfully and with his shining pink eyes studied the dogboy’s face. These eyes were really dangerous, Rei noted and turned his face away. He didn’t know how the human did it but he influenced him so subtle that he couldn’t deny any offer he was given, even if he tried. 

“Nagisa?” asked a nervous voice. Looking at the cell phone in his hand he put the loud speaker on and dropped it on the table while still hugging the other.

“Yeah I’m still here!”

There was a sigh of relieve on the other end. “I was really worried about you Nagisa, you were quiet all of a sudden and there were so many sounds…” said Makoto anxiously.

“I told you he was fine” added Haru while looking blankly at the dogboy.

“Haha! Yes everything is fine Rei-chan wants to stay with me!”

“That’s good” said his friend with a hint of affection in his voice.

“But we still have to figure out what we do I mean there’s still the original owner”, mumbled Makoto worriedly.

Clearing his throat, Rei straightened himself and spoke for the first time. “I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Rei, the dogboy in question.”

“Oh hello nice to meet you Rei! I mean hear you! I’m Makoto!” chirped the other merrily.

“I’m Haru” replied his human plainly.

“Haruka Nanase!” added Nagisa.

“If I may be bold, can I ask you how I shall address you in the future?”

“Eh well Makoto is fine.”

“Haru.”

“I see, thank you for your answers.” Rei adjusted his glasses. “Let’s get right to the point, shall we? As I know there are only a few possibilities to annul ones ownership. In this case we have only one option.”

“Abuse” uttered Haru.

“Right Haru-san. But we need evidence therefore I propose that we go to the responsible office before my injuries might heal. Another positive factor would be that when we were the first ones to complain instead of my original owner, we would appear more credible.”

“Sounds good.”

“Mhm!”

“Rei-chan is so smart!” exclaimed Nagisa cheerfully and patted the other’s head. Rei coughed a few times but he had to admit that he liked being praised, especially being patted as reward. With a light blush on his cheeks, he resumed his explanation.

“Then I think we will go this morning if nothing speaks against it, right Nagisa-san?”

“We’ll come too”, threw Haru in.

“Yes, we will support you!” exclaimed the brunette dogboy cheerfully on the other end.

“Very well. I guess it won’t hurt. I would propose that we all meet here to match our statements.”

“Right right! Let’s call RinRin and Sou-chan! They can come too!”

Lifting one of his eyebrows in question he looked at Nagisa and asked, “Who are…’Rin-Rin and Sou-chan’?”

“Oh they are also my friends I tried to call them but Rin-chan didn’t answer his phone” pouted the blonde. 

“I’ll call him.”

“Cool thanks Haru-chan! Then let’s meet in one hour from now, okay?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay, see you later Nagisa! And you too Rei!” chirped Makoto excitedly.

“Bye Bye!”

Nagisa ended the call and looked at the dogboy beside him. He still couldn’t believe that Rei-chan wanted to stay with him. Bouncing around the table he noticed his half eaten pancakes and gaped.

“Woah I almost forgot my pancakes! Let’s dig in!” And within an instant the blonde was sitting on his seat and shoved the rest of his meal in his mouth. 

Rei watched the human and shook his head. He really had to look after him otherwise he would hurt himself later on.

After Nagisa finished his meal, he told stories of his friends while both were waiting. Rei listened to him attentively and every now and then couldn’t suppress a soft snicker.


	15. First Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I worked pretty hard during Easter so that you can enjoy a new chapter (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  
> This time we have a joined part and three split parts for each couple, hope you like it that way, tell me about it I'm really curious （；^ω^）  
> Thanks for all your lovely comments I was kinda worried that you didn't like the Reigisa swap but now I'm pretty happy about your reactions °˖ ✧◝(○ ヮ ○)◜✧˖ °  
> Thank you for the positive comments and kudos! ヾ(*´∇`)ﾉ If you have anything you want to tell me or have an idea you really want to see in the future let me know, I'm always curious what you think about the story and its development ヽ(=^･ω･^=)丿

After 45 minutes Nagisa’s bell rang. When he opened the door a furious redhead and an annoyed black haired dogboy stood in his entrance.

“Hello Rin-chan! Hello Sou-chan!” The blonde greeted his friends as cheerfully as ever.

“Nagisa! Why didn’t you tell us?!” shouted Rin and stomped towards the living room while Sousuke scratched his ears and replied with a simple “Hey.”

“I tried calling you but you didn’t pick up!” said Nagisa in a pouting tone. Slumping down on the couch Rin crossed his legs and answered, “Man you can try it again, can’t you?”

Sousuke trotted over to his human and sat down beside him. Until now nobody noticed the blue haired dogboy in the kitchen preparing tea and snacks.

“What were you even doing Rin-chan? Were you busy with Sou-chan?” asked his friend mischievously and winked. 

Rin spluttered. “What do you mean?! We were eating breakfast! And I left my cell phone in my training jacket!”

“Yeah, yeah, of course Rin-chan…”

“It’s the truth!”

“Ehem…” audibly clearing his throat Rei entered the living room with a tray in his hands. After placing the content on the coffee table he bowed and introduced himself. “Good Morning, my name is Rei.”

Lifting his gaze, he inspected the two people on the couch closer. He suppressed his surprise and asked himself why Nagisa-san didn’t even mention that some of his friends were crossbreeds…well it was odd but in the end it only matched his attitude, open, friendly, unprejudiced. Without further delay he began his analysis as usual.   
The redhead seemed to be 'Rin-san' Nagisa-san was talking about, an emotional human considering his last outburst. His eyes were red and sharp, studying him curiously. While his teeth looked extraordinary he appeared to be rather blunt and open.  
Turning his gaze to the black haired dogboy, Rei elaborated his first impression. His fellow crossbreed was quite broader and taller than himself while two straight black ears on his head twitched in his direction. His tail was wagging lazily around while his calm teal eyes observed him for any kind of threat. He seemed to be a possessive dominant type and he had to watch himself, Rei concluded. Maybe he even was territorial, but it seemed like as long as you stayed in the background, he wouldn’t threaten you.

“Hello Rei! I’m Rin, and this guy beside me is Sousuke.” Rin pointed with his thump at Sousuke beside him who nodded as response while still eying the new dogboy.

“My pleasure” answered Rei politely.

“Ne ne Rei-chan don’t be so distant, we are all friends!” chirped Nagisa while devouring a cookie. 

“Nagisa, now tell me what happened. Haru didn’t want to say anything on the phone, he only told me to come to you.”

“Oh well you see…”

And while Nagisa explained the whole situation Rei drank his tea in silence and examined the new friends further.

When the blonde almost finished his story the bell rang again. A black haired man with stunning blue eyes entered the living room followed by a brunette dogboy with bright green eyes. So these were 'Haru-san' and 'Makoto-san'? And again another crossbreed?   
Standing up, Rei bowed and introduced himself properly. Makoto shyly chuckled as response and Haru hummed his approval. Sitting down on the remaining armchair, he greeted Rin and nodded towards Sousuke. On the other side the brunette dogboy bounced happily to the two friends, greeting Rin cheerfully while hugging Sousuke affectionately. With worried eyes the redhead observed the wild wagging tail which was dangerously close to the coffee table. When Makoto let Sousuke go, he began to look around, searching for his own seat. 

Haru patted on the armchair and said, “We can both fit.”

“Eh Haru I don’t think we-“, replied the dogboy flustered while eying the human. 

“Come on Makoto” interrupted the other and showed him the free place.

He hesitantly walked over to his human and sat down. Squeezing into the free space, he looked nervously at the other but Haru didn’t care. After a few moments both arranged themselves, connected by their shoulders and tights. With a blush on his cheeks Makoto studied his lap while his human drank calmly his tea.

Rei couldn’t ignore the fact that these two seemed to know the rest of the group and he was surprised when he saw the hint of a smile on Sousuke-san’s face while watching the brunette dogboy.

“Excuse me for my boldness but could you explain me how your relationships are?”

The others blinked a few times and Rin started the round. “Nagisa, Haru and I are childhood friends. Haru and I got Sousuke and Makoto at the same time.”

“And Sousuke and I are friends since our stay in the animal shelter”, added Makoto.

“Animal shelter?” asked Rei surprised.

“Eh yeah, we were returned a few times by our previous owners” explained dogboy uneasily while rubbing his neck. “And now we are happily staying with Haru and Rin. They treat us really nicely.” Peeking at his human, Makoto blushed while Sousuke grunted his approval.

“I see…so you are far more experienced than I am…” mumbled Rei to himself. “My original owner was actually the first one. Other humans trained me especially for the auction so that I become more valuable and realize a better price. In other words, Makoto-san, Sousuke-san, you are my senpais.”

“Huh?!” The others looked at the blue haired dogboy in surprise.

“Eh you don’t have to see us as senpais, really” said Makoto nervously and rubbed his neck while Sousuke only shrugged. Actually he didn’t really care if he was called ‘senpai’, everything was better than ‘Sou-chan’.

“I insist Makoto-senpai, you are far more knowledgeable than I am.”

“Oh I don’t know…” embarrassed Makoto looked at his human for help but Haru only shook his head.

There’s nothing wrong if he calls you that, or does it bother you?

Not really.

See.

“Well if you want…” he added softly while his tail wagged unsure from side to side. 

Clearing his throat, he looked at the group with confident eyes. “Now let me explain my plan I forged while waiting for you all to arrive!”

The blue haired dogboy explained proudly what he had developed in his mind, adding his calculations and information, processing them, comparing them till he found a solution. The other’s followed his words attentively while Nagisa peeked at Rei from time to time, happy that everybody supported his new friend.

After the dogboy finished everybody was silent and Nagisa was the first one to speak again.

“But Rei-chan, there’s not much action…and it sounds kinda boring…” He mumbled sadly.

The dogboy spluttered. “Nagisa-san, this is not about action or fun! We have to achieve a goal, remember?” he answered scandalized.

“Yeah, I know but I thought we could do something cool…” pouted the blonde.

“Well I think it sounds fine” interrupted Rin and shrugged.

“Thank you for supporting me, Rin-san” replied Rei gratefully.

Haru also shrugged while looking at Makoto. 

“But we only walk to this office and you and I explain the incident, that’s it! Where’s the fun? Where’s the drama?” asked the blonde excessively.

Rei cleared his throat. “It’s not merely explaining, we have to choose our words wisely otherwise we won’t convince the responsible person. Additionally we have to show him or her that you are fit to become my new owner.”

“But I don’t know how…” replied Nagisa thoughtfully.

“We’ll show them our bank account” interposed Rin with a grin.

“Mhm” grunted Haru and nodded.

“Rin-chan, Haru-chan…but I don’t want to use you…”

“Don’t sweat it Nagisa, it’s about the impact, you know? We will show them that we are able to buy him if we wanted. And by the way, we are really famous so they HAVE to approve!”

“Mhm” grunted Sousuke and crossed his arms.

“Ah…but that doesn’t really answer the question…” said Makoto shyly and looked around.

“Whatever, let’s go, it’s late.” announced Haru dryly and stood up. 

“Starting the mission: Rescue Rei-chan! Let’s go Lets go!” exclaimed Nagisa cheerfully and bounced around his friends.

Rei adjusted his glasses with a confident grin while Makoto nervously followed his human. Rin grabbed Nagisa who was still cheering loudly and the group of friends walked finally outside. 

 

Arriving at the animal affairs department they went slowly inside the building, led by Rei who remembered the right way after taking a quick peek at the map. With accuracy and confidence the blue haired dogboy walked at the front and took every turn and corner knowingly. Rin grinned at the black haired dogboy beside him and poked his side. 

“Good thing you don’t lead the way” he whispered teasingly.

“Hmpf…” snorted Sousuke sulkily. In contrast to the other crossbreeds, he had a bad sense of direction, especially for dogboys. Even if he used his nose, he easily changed streets and sometimes he even needed his human’s help. It was rather embarrassing for him and only Rin and Makoto knew his secret, and it should stay this way. So he didn’t say anything as response and ignored the comment and the smug grin on Rin’s face. Luckily nobody else noticed the brief exchange.

When they finally found the right office, Rei stopped before the closed door while looking at the others meaningfully. Then he nodded once and knocked. Entering the small room, Rei and Nagisa were the only ones able to sit at the work desk while the rest of the group was standing behind them like a bastion of calm. Rin grinned at the responsible woman, showing his sharp teeth while Haru only watched her silently. Sousuke’s and Makoto’s height were another main factor why the poor office lady was fearfully looking around and asked for the reason why they were visiting her.   
Nagisa answered sweetly with an innocent smile while the others listened to his story. It was obvious that the blonde was really skilful in dealing with people and his appearance helped him additionally. Within the first few seconds he already knew that the office lady was eating out of his palm therefore he underlined his words with exaggerated gestures which captured the woman even more.   
When Nagisa had finished he peeked at the dogboy sitting beside him and noticed his slightly open mouth. Grinning inside, he patted his own shoulder and laughed in his mind. Stunning the serious dogboy was really fun, thought Nagisa and took a mental note for future use.   
After that Rei showed the lady his injuries and explained again how he received them. She took eagerly notes and assured that the dogboy didn’t have to fear anymore abuse.   
In the end Nagisa only had to fill out another document to claim ownership and deposit the usual amount of administration costs and crossbreed owning fee.

With a big smile Nagisa left the building, by his side his new dogboy Rei and accompanied by his other friends.

“Man that was really easy” said Rin almost disappointed. He didn’t need to show his bank account therefore he was kinda disappointed.

“Actually I also thought that it would be more difficult but our preparation and Nagisa-san’s persuasion skills were really outstanding” added Rei thoughtfully.

“Let’s go eat something and celebrate!” proposed Nagisa enthusiastically.

“Mhm” grunted Haru and Sousuke. While the dogboys wagged happily the friends talked about their eating possibilities and preferences.

 

Walking along the shopping mall, Rei abruptly stopped. Confused Nagisa followed his gaze and saw the cause of his action. There, a few meters away, stood his previous owner, accompanied by some other humans. He seemed to search for something, or more precisely for him. 

Confused, Rin looked at the two and asked “What’s wrong?”

Nagisa grabbed his arm and whispered, “That’s the man! The one who beat up Rei-chan!”

Everybody was now looking at the man and his companions. Rin peeked at Sousuke who nodded once and then he searched for Haru’s eyes who nodded, too. After their brief eye contact the three of them were walking right towards the group of men while Makoto followed hesitantly. He noticed the brief interaction but didn’t really want to fight but if his human wanted, he would do it. The blonde and his dogboy remained on their place, unable to move. Nagisa eyed Rei worriedly who became pale within the last few seconds. With big eyes he watched the others walk to the man he thought he would never see again. His human grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly, reassuring him that he wasn’t alone anymore. Both could only watch their friends and what followed next.

“Oy!” addressed Rin rudely the man while Sousuke stood on his right side and Haru and Makoto on his left.

Surprised the other men turned around and faced the approaching group. Rin’s grin and Sousuke’s glare made quite the impact because suddenly the men became silent. Haru looked at them with his poker face and cold azure eyes while Makoto’s gaze switched from his friends to the men and back. He tried his best not to grab his human’s shirt but it was really difficult for him. These men looked so mean…

“I heard you were really nice to one of my friends”, said the redhead and pointed at Nagisa and Rei standing behind him. 

The man turned his view to the mentioned direction and recognized his dogboy immediately. Frowning angrily, he eyed the young man standing before him and replied, “This dogboy is mine, give it back.”

“Not anymore dude, now he belongs to us”, said Rin coolly with arms akimbo.

“How dare you?! I fucking bought him!” shouted the man angrily back while the others beside him tensed up. 

As response Sousuke growled dangerously and crossed his arms. Straightening himself up to his full height, he looked down on the men and snorted. Gosh he loved to be tall, especially now.

“Well, you may have bought him, but you don’t OWN him anymore”, explained Rin while grinning toothy, intentionally showing his sharp teeth.

“Oh and by the way” he took a few steps forward so that the man could hear his whisper, “when you try anything funny again, we fucking hunt you, understand?” 

To underline Rin’s threat Sousuke growled again and frowned even deeper. Haru and Makoto listened to their friend and nodded solemnly, looking as dangerously as possible, which was not something Makoto was used to. He never threatened someone intentionally even if he was trying now. The good thing was that the others beside him were so convincing that his half shut eyes and odd grimace that looked more like the face of some comedian weren’t noticed by the men. All eyes were on the madly grinning redhead and viciously looking black haired dogboy.

“Tch…Fine, take this stupid dogboy! I don’t need him, I’ll buy another one, a better one, so screw you!” shouted the man enraged and turned around, followed by his companions. 

Rin snorted. This guy was really nasty. 

After a few moments Makoto whispered nervously, “I-Is it over?”

“Yeah, don’t worry” replied Sousuke calmly and smiled softly at his friend.

“Now let’s eat, man I’m starving!” exclaimed Rin exhausted and Haru grunted approvingly. The growing tension vanished in an instant and was replaced by the pleasant anticipation of a delicious meal.

When the group returned to Nagisa and Rei both were starring at them as if they were spooky ghosts.

“Guys…” said the blonde softly with watering eyes. Looking from one to the other, his lips quivered, being overwhelmed by emotions.

“You can thank us later Nagisa, now let’s find a restaurant”, said Rin cheerfully and patted Nagisa’s shoulder gently.

The blonde was really moved by his friends. They protected and defended him and Rei although they only knew the dogboy for a few hours but they still went all out for him. He was so glad to be friends with them, so glad…  
Whipping the wetness around his eyes away, he sniffed one last time and smiled brightly.

“Thank you guys!” he chirped happily and hugged one after another, trying to convey his feelings of love and happiness.   
Rin accepted the emotional hug with a light blush and quiet protest while Sousuke frowned and grunted uncomfortably. Of course he couldn’t deny Nagisa anything so he endured it, slightly embarrassed by the warm words of the blonde. Haru ruffled affectionately Nagisa’s mop of blonde hair and smiled softly when it was his turn. At last the human moved to Makoto and hugged him tightly. The dogboy didn’t feel like he did anything special, he only stood beside his friends while they did all the talking and looking mean but nevertheless he hugged the blonde back and whispered gentle encouraging words in the other’s ear.

Meanwhile Rei watched the whole scene flabbergasted. It was the second time in his life that someone was defending him and he didn’t really know these guys. They were strangers but they still protected him with all they had got and it moved him deeply. He blinked the increasing wetness in his eyes away and sniffed a few times. It was just so…beautiful…and he saw something while watching them…something he had never seen before and it looked amazing, beautiful and outstanding… Maybe he could really become friends with them… 

“Eh Rei, are you okay?” asked Makoto softly and smiled.

“Yes, Makoto-senpai, I’m fine I’m just…moved by your act of friendship”, replied the blue haired dogboy embarrassed.

The brunette chuckled. “You sound like you don’t include yourself but you’re one of us too now. So if you have any problems you can come to any one of us, okay?”

After hearing the other’s words, Rei felt that his eyes began to water again. Makoto’s friendly and sincere attitude was just so…

Smiling broadly he replied, “Thank you Makoto-senpai!” He somehow had the urge to hug Makoto-senpai but he felt that it was kind of inappropriate and he didn’t know if he would accept it and he had to consider-

“Anytime Rei. Now let’s join the others, shall we?” proposed Makoto merrily and followed the others. 

Rei looked after his new friends and felt the swelling happiness inside his heart. Running after the group, he was now walking beside his human, shyly peeking at him. It was all thanks to Nagisa-san that he could experience these new feelings and what it meant to have friends. Wagging happily for the first time in his life without restraining himself, he listened to the bickering and chattering of his new friends while thinking about ways to express his thankfulness.

 

 

“Woah I’m so full!” exclaimed Nagisa with a sigh and slumped down on the couch. A few minutes ago they had returned to Nagisa’s flat after the dinner with their friends. 

“Nagisa-san, you ate quite the amount of food if I remember correctly…” Rei adjusted his glasses while watching his human rubbing his belly.

“Rei-chaaaan that wasn’t so muuuuuch!” whined the blonde on the couch.

Clearing his throat, the dogboy began to count the dishes the other had, “As appetizer you had miso soup, meatballs and little spring rolls. Then you ate a bowl of ramen, and fried shrimps while taking half of Makoto-senpai’s curry and stealing from Sousuke-senpai’s pork Tonkatsu. After that you ate chocolate cake, strawberry cream soufflé and vanilla ice as dessert. And I didn’t count the sweet bean buns you ate on our way home.”

“Ah...hahaha Rei-chan as I said it wasn’t THAT much…”

“Nagisa-san, when I compare your height and weight with the amount of food you ate, then I come to the result that you certainly ate too much.” With arms akimbo and a slight frown the dogboy eyed his human seriously.

“Oh come on are you saying I get fat?” asked Nagisa with an exaggerated hurtful tone.

Rei spluttered and answered hurriedly, “I didn’t say that Nagisa-san! I only wanted to explain to you why your stomach hurts!”

With a pouting face the blonde studied the dogboy and then suddenly grinned.

“Ne, ne Rei-chan…” said Nagisa sweetly, “won’t you rub my tummy? I think that would reeeeeally help me a lot.”

The dogboy looked at him with big eyes and within a second his cheeks were flushed red. 

“I-I-I don’t think that this would be a good idea, I mean your stomach hurts and when I apply too much pressure it coul-“

Interrupting the other, Nagisa looked through his eyelashes and blinked slowly a few times while saying, “Please Rei-chan, won’t you help me? It hurts sooooo muuuuuch…”

Rei swallowed audibly. Eyeing the blonde on the couch, he took a few steps forward, drowning in shining pink eyes. He knew that this human was dangerous in many ways but he couldn’t deny any request he gave him. So slowly but surely he came nearer and kneeled beside his human. With a smug grin, Nagisa lifted his shirt, exposing his naked stomach. The dogboy swallowed again and with a trembling hand he reached out.

“It’s fine Rei-chan, you won’t hurt me” assured Nagisa and smiled gently.

The dogboy nodded once and returned his gaze to the exposed stomach and his hand. His fingertips hesitantly touched the warm soft skin and Nagisa shuddered. 

“Your hands are cold!” exclaimed the blonde surprised.

“Ah, I’m sorry Nagisa-san!” Rei’s ears dropped immediately and he retracted his hand as if he burned himself. He did something wrong. He forgot to check the temperature of his hands…what a mistake, what a shame he never made mistakes and now this…

“It’s okay, but next time you have to warm up!” replied Nagisa and winked.

Next time?! There was a next time?! The dogboy opened his mouth but nothing left his lips. Instead he blushed even more and rubbed his hands against each other to make them warm. Then again he touched carefully Nagisa’s stomach while eying his face attentively for any reaction.  
When he finally began to draw little circles around the other’s bellybutton, the blonde sighed contently and mumbled, “That feels really good…”

“T-That’s good to hear!” replied the dogboy embarrassed and raised his voice a little bit higher than usual. 

Enlarging the circle of his movements, he starred at the soft skin, feeling the pleasant warmth it emitted. Shyly peeking at Nagisa, he noticed that he had already closed his eyes. So…he did it right? Nagisa-san could relax? With a confident smile he concentrated on his hand and stroked more consciously and enthusiastically.

After several minutes Rei lifted his gaze again only to see that his human was soundly asleep. He proudly straightened himself and adjusted his glasses. But in the next moment he remembered that he was supposed to sleep on the couch and not his human. With a slight frown he thought about other possibilities while still rubbing the other’s belly.

He could use Nagisa-san’s bed instead but it would be inexcusable without his permission. Sleeping on the floor would be really uncomfortable and he might get sick. He could carry his human to his bed…  
Eying the blonde he studied his features. His expression was so relaxed and content that he looked like someone out of a painting, smooth skin without any wrinkle, long eyelashes, fluffy blonde hair…he looked beautiful….like an angel…and Rei studied him with a soft smile on his lips, still not believing that this was now his new owner.   
Coming back to his normal senses he concluded that he had to carry him to his bedroom, there was no other option. So he slowly stood up and bended over the other. Smelling the sweet scent of strawberries, he carefully took the blonde in his arms and lifted him up. He carried him bridal style, noting to himself that he was rather lighter than he had assumed. Opening the bedroom door with his foot, he slowly and cautiously laid Nagisa on his bed. Then he covered him with one of his blankets and for one last time checked his position. 

When everything seemed to be fine, he left the room and quietly closed the door. For a moment he stopped in his tracks and thought about the upcoming duties: brushing teeth, changing, closing all windows and of course the door, doing one last round and then bed. Rei finished his list dutifully and accurately. Laying his glasses on the coffee table, he crawled under his blanket and sighed. This day was really long, and exciting in many ways and now he had friends…By this thought he smiled softly. Hugging one of the pillows he curled himself up and imagined his new life with his human and friends.

 

 

 

 

“That was really exciting”, said Makoto cheerfully. Both walked slowly along the shore, watching the beautiful sunset on their way home.

“Mhm” hummed Haru as response and eyed the dogboy beside him. 

Looking at his free hand swinging at his side, tempting him with the warmth and pleasant feeling, his human grabbed the dogboy’s hand without batting an eye. 

Holding hands was still new to Makoto but he enjoyed it, especially the shy display before Haru would take his hand. In contrast to his human’s believe he watched him secretly every time he did it and couldn’t suppress his excitement when he would finally touch him. With wagging tail and broad smile Makoto looked at the shop windows and passing people. 

“Makoto”, began Haru but hesitated. He had to tell him, he knew it but one part of him didn’t want it because he feared his reaction. What would he do if he knew that his training regime began next week again and he would have to move back to Tokyo? Would Makoto come with him? Would he stay in Iwatobi? Would he be sad?   
Biting his lip he cerebrated. Peeking at the dogboy in question he noticed his confused look. 

“No, it’s nothing” he replied uneasily.

“Hm okay” mumbled Makoto and returned his attention back to the shop windows. He could feel that Haru wanted to talk about something but he wouldn’t pressure him.

After a few moments of switching back and forth Haru couldn’t hold it anymore, he needed to say it, now.

“I have training next week” he suddenly blurred out. Keeping his eyes forward, he gained enough courage to take a quick peek at the other.

Makoto smiled softly and replied, “I know Haru.” He squeezed his hand reassuringly while blue eyes looked at him in confusion.

“You and Rin talked about it, when we were eating, remember?” added the dogboy with a smile.

Right, they really had talked about it, he almost forgot….Studying the other curiously he waited for his response but Makoto didn’t say anything. Looking at his feet, Haru thought about how to tell the rest. 

The brunette dogboy watched thoughtfully passing people while remembering the tiny bits of conversation he had listened to. He already felt the growing anxiety filling his mind. The thoughts about loneliness, abandoning, loosing, he really tried to keep them at bay, but now they flared again. Gritting his teeth, he tried to change his mood by watching the shop windows. From time to time he had a soft smile on his face when he saw something cute or adorable.

When they finally returned home Yoshi was already waiting for them at the entrance, greeting them with loud meows. Somebody could almost think that he blamed them for leaving him alone. 

With a broad smile Makoto kneeled and patted the tiny head gently. “You’re a really good cat Yoshi! Such a good cat!”

Haru watched the two fondly while doffing his shoes. 

“Wanna have a treat little boy?” asked the dogboy sweetly and trotted over to the kitchen. His human looked after him and sighed quietly. He really needed to talk to him.

So Haru walked over into the kitchen and prepared tea while watching Makoto feeding the little calico kitten. Then he went to the living room and sat down at the table. Waiting for the brunette dogboy, he tried to find the right words to say.  
Makoto entered the room followed by Yoshi and sat down beside his human. Smiling at the kitten he merrily played with him like usual, using his tail as decoy. He wagged his tail up and down, encouraging Yoshi to catch it. Haru followed their play still unsure how to approach the topic. 

After a while he mumbled, “Makoto.”

Surprised Makoto’s ears twitched and he looked at his human, “Yes Haru?”

Starring at the table he knew that it was now or never therefore he faced the dogboy and said slowly, “I have to go back to Tokyo.”

Makoto’s eyes became big. What did he say? 

“Eh…hehehe…Haru, why do you have to go back? Is it for a few days?” he asked with a nervous chuckle, already knowing deep inside that his human wasn’t talking about days.

“My training starts in Tokyo and I have to stay for several months at least…” Azure eyes studied him closely but Makoto felt lost. Did this mean that he had to stay here? Watching the house? He looked at his lap.   
Forgotten was the play with Yoshi and he didn’t even feel the pain when the little kitten bit his tail. The only thing he could feel was growing panic. But he had to be strong, supportive because Haru needed to train, it was his job, his living so he had to do everything he could to help him. 

Biting his lip, he peeked at his human and smiled weakly.

“Ah is that so…” he replied nervously. Rubbing his neck, he thought about Yoshi and what would happen to him. Would Haru leave him too? Would he stay with him? He already imagined different scenarios in which he was living alone, eaten by loneliness and self-pity.

“Do you want to come with me?” asked Haru finally after watching the dogboy for some time. 

And within an instant all Makoto’s sorrows, doubts and worries vanished. With big green eyes he looked at his human and gaped. Noticing the blue worried eyes, his face lighted up and a broad smile graced his lips. His eyes began to water because he felt so relieved. Half sobbing he replied happily, “Of course Haru! I would never leave you!” 

He leaped at his human with wagging tail and hugged him tightly. He was just so glad that Haru won’t leave him, that the both of them would stay together, that he didn’t have to worry about being lonely. Noticing a few snorts, he looked at the mop of black hair.

“Makoto….too tight…” Haru uttered.

“Oh! I’m sorry Haru! Sorry! Are you okay?” The dogboy released the other immediately and inspected him nervously.

“Yes, I’m okay, but you need to watch you strength…” mumbled his human while eying the other. 

When he saw his angelic smile, full of happiness and gratefulness, he blushed unwillingly. Turning his face away, he noticed the little calico kitten crawling into his lap. He stroked tenderly his back and smiled fondly.

“B-But what do we do with Yoshi? Is he coming too?” asked Makoto concerned while observing the two. 

“Mhm, of course” answered Haru.

Bouncing around the living room, the brunette dogboy walked into the garden and back while exclaiming merrily, “I’m so happy! We all stay together! I was so worried!”

“I would never leave you, too” mumbled Haru softly. 

Twitching his ears, Makoto returned to his side and replied anxiously, “I know Haru but…some part in me was really, really afraid…”

With a small smile on his lips, his human ruffled his brown hair and said fondly, “It’s okay, don’t be sorry.”

“Mhm!” Makoto nodded once and followed the other’s hand with his head. “I like it when you pat me, your hands feel really good” he blabbered unintentionally.

Smiling to himself he noticed that Haru stopped his action for a brief moment. With confused eyes he looked at the human and it dawned on him. He had said something embarrassing…  
Immediately closing his mouth with his hand, he helplessly eyed the other with blushing cheeks.   
For a moment Haru was surprised, he wasn’t used to Makoto being this straight forward but it wasn’t bad. When he saw the other’s reaction he couldn’t stop his thoughts about how cute he looked like that. He really liked his blushing face, and his bright green eyes and his soft brown hair…He fell really deep…  
Sighing internally he reminded himself that he had to be patient, even if he really wanted to kiss him right now…   
Shaking his head and with a light blush on his cheeks he began patting Makoto’s head again as if nothing had happened. 

Feeling the warm touch on his head, the brunette dogboy inspected his human in surprise, noticing the slight blush. After a few moments he closed his eyes contently and enjoyed the soft weight, it calmed and relaxed him. His tail wagged from side to side, by which Yoshi’s attention got caught. Eying the wagging tail critically, he crouched himself, ready for attacking. Leaping at the moving fur, Makoto suddenly yelped. With a hurtful expression he looked at his back and noticed the little calico kitten happily scratching his skin. 

“Bad Yoshi, it hurts, be nice!” The dogboy lectured the kitten with a frown.

Haru snorted. The picture of Makoto and Yoshi was just too funny. A dogboy lecturing a cat, seriously too funny.

“Haru are you laughing?!” whined Makoto and observed his human with an obviously exaggerated hurt expression. 

The other returned his expression to his usual poker face and replied dryly, “No.” 

 

 

 

 

“Dude I was really SO close to punch him!” said Rin angrily and huffed a few times with arms akimbo.

“Mhm I saw it” replied Sousuke with a smirk. Both were talking about their encounter with Rei’s previous owner while walking back to Rin’s car. 

“This douche bag was really a nasty guy! Did you see how arrogant he was! Tch, really…”

The black haired dogboy peeked at his human. He himself wasn’t that irritated by the whole incident but the other was cursing since they left their friends.

“Calm down Rin, it’s over”, said Sousuke calmly.

“It’s not over! What if he really buys another crossbreed and treats him like shit?!” replied Rin enraged with furious eyes.

The dogboy shrugged. “We can’t do anything about it. He isn’t the only one who acts like that.”

“But it’s just so…wrong…” The human looked at his foot while uttering the last word in a soft and vulnerable voice. This world sucked. The whole time he thought that everything went great, that bad actions would be punished, that justice wasn’t just a word. Of course he wasn’t naïve or something, but he had still some positive feeling about his environment and now…he felt so…sober? Disillusioned? Like something inside him got damaged and it couldn’t be repaired. He felt the same way every time Sousuke was talking about his past or his experiences and now this ‘thing’ inside him broke completely. But he didn’t whine or regret it, he would accept it and he would fight against this unfairness because it was his way. He fought his whole life so one additional battle wasn’t that much.

Rin clenched his fists. With strong eyes which showed a burning flame inside his iris, he looked forward without wavering once. 

The dogboy felt his change of attitude and eyed him curiously. Something had changed inside his human, something important. Studying the red burning eyes, he unwillingly shuddered by the sight. Rin was so powerful and wild and charming…Sousuke knew that he was the human he would follow till the end and he was proud of him, that somebody like Rin owned him, allowed him to be by his side, treated him like a friend.

“Sousuke” said Rin suddenly while opening the car.

“We won’t tolerate this shit, understand?” added the redhead and looked at the other with serious and resolute eyes. 

Admiring the shining red eyes, Sousuke nodded and replied, “Yes Rin.”

“And we will fucking fight against these arseholes who try to hurt my friends or crossbreeds or innocents!” Finished his human and banged his fist on the roof of his sports car.

“Mhm” grunted the dogboy solemnly.

 

On their way home Rin talked about his resolution and how he would never accept such a scene like today. Sousuke attentively listened to him, showing a soft smile on his lips. While the redhead cursed every stupid ass for fucking hurting his friends, the dogboy on the passenger seat gathered all his favourite points and traits of his human’s personality. 

 

After returning home, the two of them watched TV as usual and finally Rin calmed down. Suddenly he gasped and looked at the black haired dogboy beside him. 

“Shit Sousuke I almost forgot to tell you. We have to go to Tokyo in a few weeks!”

With big eyes and lifted eyebrows he looked at his human in surprise. “Why?”

“Ah…My training starts again and I have to return to the National training grounds” announced Rin while rubbing his head.

Sousuke’s gaze turned to his lap. Peeking at the dogboy beside him, Rin noticed the other’s fallen face.

“Hey hey! Don’t look so disappointed, you will like Tokyo, believe me.” Upholding his hands and trying to reassure the other, his human observed him with worried eyes.

“Mhm” he grunted.

Actually Sousuke liked Iwatobi, and the house they were living in, and the front yard and... He didn’t like changes, especially new things. He wasn’t afraid or anything like that but he didn’t like it, or more precisely he hated it. Frowning deeply, he thought about this new unknown city he was going to visit, no… live in and he couldn’t shake his uneasiness away. 

Rin studied the dogboy curiously. He could see clearly that Sousuke didn’t like this announcement and he still tried to understand why. Maybe he thought he would leave him? Or was he afraid?

“You are coming with me, you know?” asked the redhead unsurely.

“Yeah I know…” replied Sousuke grumpily.

The other looked confused at him and lifted one of his eyebrows. “Then tell me why you’re grumpy.”

Snorting, the dogboy crossed his arms and lifted his gaze. “I don’t like moving.”

“But you can take everything with you. And my flat is really nice in Tokyo. Almost the same as here, same furniture but a little bit smaller I guess. Well but you can still have your own room.”

“Hmpf I like living here…” answered Sousuke.

“Are you being a kid or what? I like living here too but I need to train and therefore I need to return to Tokyo” replied Rin annoyed.

Turning his face away, Sousuke muttered, “I know…”

“Then why are you such a grinch?”

The dogboy mumbled something Rin couldn’t understand, so he had to ask him again. “Huh? What are you saying?”

“I hate new things!” said the other a tone louder and looked t his human. Shocked by his own voice, the dogboy dropped his ears and looked flustered at his lap.

For a few moments, both remained silent. 

“Eh….okay…but when you get used to it you will like it, like when you came to me, remember?” Rin’s voice was now gentle and soothing.

Feeling embarrassed Sousuke turned his face away. “Hmpf.”

“Awe come on Sousuke, I’m really looking forward to it, you know. And Haru and Makoto will be in Tokyo too because we swim in the same team” said Rin with a knowing grin.

Sousuke’s ears twitched. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. At least Makoto was there too and they could meet again otherwise he would stay here in Iwatobi and wouldn’t be able to see his friend anymore. That was definitely worse.

“And we can do a lot of fun stuff like eating at an all you can eat restaurant with spareribs or pizza. And we could try out paint ball or go to these arcade game stores.” With shining eyes his human told him merrily what they could do in this big city so different from Iwatobi. 

Sousuke listened to him and his uneasiness shrunk with each new idea the redhead had. Now it didn’t feel that bad anymore because he was with Rin, and Rin would help him if he felt…out of place. Everything was easier when Rin was involved, when he had these flashbacks or angry outbursts, Rin would always look after him. With a soft smile, the black haired dogboy looked at his human again and mumbled, “Okay.”

For a moment the redhead stopped in his speech and eyed the other surprised. Then with a toothy grin he punched Sousuke lightly on the shoulder and said, “See, it will be awesome, believe me!”

“Mhm…”

“Oh and actually…Haru and I are neighbours” added Rin while rubbing his neck. He was kind of embarrassed because he remembered all these times Haru would cook for him or how he had to wake him up or drag him out of the bathtub. Sometimes the coach would yell at them because both were late thanks to his friend. 

“You can visit Makoto or something like that when I have training” uttered his human and peeked shyly at the dogboy. “So you don’t get lonely.”

Sousuke grinned. “You’re afraid I would cry in a corner when you leave?”

“Tch! As if! I only try to cheer you up dumbass!” Rin crossed his arms and pouted. 

Slyly the dogboy came a little bit closer and whispered into the other’s ear, “Or maybe you will be lonely?”

Shocked Rin held one hand over his ear and exclaimed flustered, “W-What the fuck?! I won’t! I mean…I’ll come back every evening and we will spend the rest of the day together like usual.”

Sousuke chuckled and began to laugh wholeheartedly after a few moments.

“D-Don’t make fun of me! I’m serious here!” His human shouted pouting.

Taking a few breaths, the dogboy looked at the other again and replied, “I know Rin it was just…you sounded so serious and it was really cute.”

Crap. 

Rin blinked a few times while processing the said words and Sousuke felt the rising blush on his cheeks and hid his mouth in embarrassment.

Crap.

With big eyes his human studied him, not knowing what to say.

“I’ll get us drinks” mumbled Sousuke hesitantly and stood up. After leaving the living room he cursed inside on the whole way to the kitchen. Sometimes he blurred out these things in his mind and fuck…he didn’t mean to say it and now Rin heard it and thought it was weird and…shit shit shit. He didn’t want to change their relationship and he didn’t want to make things weird between them.   
Grabbing two cans from the fridge, he trotted back and returned to the couch. Offering one can to his human, he opened his own and took a big gulp. Maybe freezing his brain would help him to stop saying these embarrassing thoughts.  
They watched TV in silence for a few more minutes when Rin mumbled softly, “I don’t mind.”

Huh? Sousuke peeked at him in surprise and noticed the light blush on his cheeks…so he wasn’t angry or weird out?

“Fuck man this is embarrassing! Let’s leave it like that.” Rin rubbed his neck while glueing his eyes on the TV.

“Mhm” grunted Sousuke and smiled. He would never be able to put his feelings into words but it didn’t matter because somehow he knew that nevertheless his human would understand him. The rest of the evening both watched the most hardcore action movie they owned so they wouldn’t think about the embarrassing incident that happened or their growing feelings.


	16. First Departure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers!  
> Finally a new chapter ^^" I'm really busy right now therefore I can't update as frequently as before （ﾉ´д｀） I'm sorry about this.  
> Neveretheless I hope you enjoy the new chapter, it kinda shows what will be the topic in the next chapter(s) ヾ(*ゝω・*)ﾉ  
> And thank you all for the kudos and lovely comments! You keep me going guys, seriously ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆   
> Let me know what you think about the chapter, I'm always happy to reply to you!  
> I wish you all a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading (｀･ω･´)ﾉ

Makoto and Haru were both standing at the airport with their cases in one hand and their tickets in the other. It was time to leave Iwatobi and after a tearful and sad good bye from Nagisa and Rei, the human and his dogboy studied the destination board in search of their flight. Both ignored the curious stares and frowning faces around them. 

Haru explained that flying would be faster and easier than going by train and Makoto reluctantly agreed. He never flew before, why would he? But he could try it out because if his human said it would be better, then he trusted in his opinion.   
He tried to be brave but all the new noises and busy humans floating the airport scared him. With dropped ears and an unpleasant shiver he eyed his surroundings. He was so relieved and grateful when Haru took his hand and supported him in his own way. It grounded him. Thoughts about Yoshi, the poor little calico kitten who would also fly for the first time filled his mind. He was already on board in his cat carrier and Makoto couldn’t stop worrying about his well being, even if his human had told him so many times that nothing would happen. 

Haru peeked at the dogboy from the corner of his eyes and studied him with concern. He could feel the sweaty shivering hand and see the anxious expression on Makoto’s face.

“It’s going to be all right” said his human calmly, trying to reassure him.

Makoto could only nod because his tongue felt so heavy that he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Audibly swallowing, he walked beside his human to the terminal. 

When both checked in they followed a small corridor to their booked plane. The entrance door was so small that Makoto had to duck his head to fit in. He hesitantly looked around while Haru lead him to their seats. There were at least more than 50 seats around them, partially filled with humans and the one or other crossbreed. But Haru was walking past the bunch of seats heading to the front. Both walked pass another door when finally he stopped. 

With big eyes the brunette dogboy eyed his surroundings. Now there were only a few seats, bigger than the ones they had already seen and there was more space than before. Haru sat down on one of them and patted on the other beside him. Makoto reluctantly followed his offer. He put the case on his lap while looking around. This compartment seemed to be really expensive, if he considered the additional space, the soft seats and the little screen on each place. 

“H-Haru this looks really expensive” whispered the dogboy nervously while holding his case.

“It’s nothing” replied his human dryly and studied the other curiously.

“But…”

“It’s fine, I like it more quiet” explained Haru and took Makoto’s case. He put it beside his seat while asking, “Wanna play or read something?” The dogboy could hear the hint of concern in Haru’s voice.

“Eh…well…” Makoto tilted his head and continued after a few moments, “I would like to play something.” So Haru took his N3ds out of the case and handed it over.

The dogboy carefully took the little device in his hands and observed it with a soft smile. It was one of many presents he got from his human and he really liked his N3ds because there were small cute creatures on it and it was bright green. 

“Here.” Haru presented the earphones he had specially bought for Makoto the other day. In comparison to humans dogboys needed larger ones to cover their ears completely. Makoto plugged the earphones in the N3ds and cautiously placed them over his ears. Haru eyed him worriedly, already hoping that now the dogboy wouldn’t be able to hear the starting noises too loud. Makoto didn’t suspect anything and played happily his favorite game.

Only after a few moments he felt the vibrations around him and looked at his human in confusion. When he noticed the growing noises and roars from under him he began to shiver.

“W-What is this?” he asked fearfully.

“The plane is starting” announced Haru calmly.

Makoto pressed his hands over his earphones trying to deafen the increasing noises. His human laid one hand on his tight with a soft squeeze showing that he was still by his side and not alone. The dogboy turned his face in Haru’s direction and was greeted with gentle blue eyes. 

Don’t be scared, I’m with you.

The brunette nodded and smiled weakly. He couldn’t deny that he was still afraid of the odd vibrations and loud noises but knowing that Haru was with him calmed his mind. So gritting his teeth he endured the rest of the starting process till the plane was flying quietly in the sky. 

With trembling hands Makoto removed the earphones and sighed relieved. With a tiny smile Haru ruffled his hair while whispering, “You did great Makoto”. 

The dogboy smiled broadly after these words and his wagging tail hit the seat with a continuous thump.

The rest of the flight was relatively uneventful. Both spent their time with reading, playing or talking when finally after a few hours they landed in Tokyo, their new home. 

 

 

Sousuke frowned when he first saw the plane he and Rin would be flying with. It was huge and a lot of people were already heading inside. Alone the thought of being with so many humans in such a small space gave him headaches. Still asking himself why he agreed to this, he grumpily trotted after his human.  
Rin was pretty much exited being able to visit Tokyo again. He blabbered the whole way about the things he would show Sousuke and the delicious food and so much stuff that Sousuke didn’t know. Nevertheless he listened attentively because everything his human told him was something special he had to remember, even if it was something simple or stupid like Rin preferring to take the first toilet when he used official bathrooms. 

When both were finally sitting on their seats within the business compartment, Rin sighed contentedly while making himself comfortable. Closing his eyes for a few moments he remembered a few memories about Iwatobi and his time with Sousuke. Taking a quick peek at the black haired dogboy, Rin suppressed a grin because Sousuke was sitting on his soft seat with crossed arms and a big frown on his forehead while eying the passing humans. 

“It’s fine Sousuke, nobody will disturb us. This is the business class.” Rin explained calmly and proudly, because yes he could spend the extra money for this.

The other snorted. “I know.”

Nevertheless he glued his eyes on his surroundings, trying to cover his nervousness. It was the first time for him to fly and he would never openly admit that he was somehow a little bit afraid. There was no way out of this plane if something happened and additionally there were so many humans staring…  
Sousuke fucking hated this whole situation and he really needed to calm himself down otherwise he would snap. 

Rin felt that something was up with his friend so he took his mp3 player and held one earphone towards the other.

“I found this new album from ‘Killer Shark’. Let’s check it out.” 

Sousuke reluctantly took the earphone and held it near his ear. 

After the first few music beats he closed his eyes and his frown almost disappeared. He liked this band and he enjoyed every song of them so he leaned back and every now and then hummed along the lines. Rin watched him the whole time and was relieved when his friend relaxed. 

Their private moment was interrupted once the plane began to move. The starting process was so loud that the dogboy frowned in distaste. He could feel the vibrations around him by which he raised his hackles. The grip on his arms tightened with every passing second. When he felt the pleasant warmth of another hand on his own Sousuke looked surprised at his human. Rin lightly squeezed his hand and looked at him with reassuring eyes. Feeling the other’s intention he took a deep breath and concentrated on the redhead, on his bright eyes, his long eyelashes and his soft smile. Therefore he didn’t even notice that the noises began to subside and the vibrations stopped. At the end Rin leaned over and whispered in his ear,

“Well done big guy.”

The black haired dogboy turned his face away. Trying to hide his embarrassment and growing blush he put his hand over his mouth while the other was still covered by Rin’s. After a few moments his human removed his hand and smiled at him. Sousuke already missed the pleasant warmth and soft weight and his mind screamed so desperately for the others touch but he didn’t show it.   
Instead he returned the other’s smile with his own. Both began to listen to their music again while talking about other bands and their upcoming new life. From time to time Sousuke would thoughtfully smile, thinking about his human and their long way to the present, what they went through, what he went through and there was still so much more they had to work on.   
Peeking at the redhead beside him, he asked himself why his human would burden himself. He was so much work, had so many problems and Rin still stayed with him. He could never show him how grateful he was for that. And…  
With sad eyes he looked at his lap while humming to the heartbroken song. He could never tell him how much he meant to him because he was so afraid that things would change. On the other side humans should stay with humans. Even if the redhead said that he was human too he was somehow different. Society showed it to him every time they left the house so there was no way for him. Of course he was sad but he was good in hiding and repressing things especially his feelings because he learned it over the years and after a while it became so easy that sometimes he already did it unintentionally. 

“We’re almost there” announced Rin with a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Mhm” replied Sousuke softly while looking out of the little window. Maybe Tokyo wouldn’t be that bad and maybe it was better that he and Rin wouldn’t spend so much time together anymore. Even if he would miss him it was better that way. Now he had the opportunity to suppress his indecent feelings entirely.

 

 

“So…“ 

“So…”

Makoto and Haru were standing at the entrance of Haru’s flat. The human was ready to leave for his first training day, studying the nervous dogboy before him. Makoto was shuffling with his feet, switching his gaze between Haru and the floor. He was nervous and uneasy because this would be the first time for him being alone in Tokyo for half of the day. He knew that it was a must but still…  
With big green eyes he looked at his human.

“Remember, I put your meal in the fridge, you can use the microwave to warm it. The front door key is right here if you need to leave the flat. You can visit Sousuke if you want…and…don’t worry, I’ll be back at 5.” Haru’s voice was calm and composed the complete opposite of Makoto’s present emotions. He nodded jerkily and followed Haru’s hands when he pointed at the key.

“Mhm okay.”

“You remember my number?”

The dogboy shyly nodded again. “Mhm.”

“Okay, then I’m going.” For one last time Haru peeked over his shoulder, eying the brunette and then left the flat. The click of the door echoed in Makoto’s ears. Now he was really alone, really really alone.  
Looking at the closed door for a few moments more, he turned around and trotted into the living room. Sitting down on the couch beside the sleeping calico kitten, he looked thoughtfully around. 

The flat they were now living in was a lot smaller than the house in Iwatobi. There were three rooms including the living room, a small kitchen and in contrast to the rest of the flat a big bath. Haru explained him that he liked this size, not too small and not too big. But now there were three creatures living here, a human, a dogboy and a kitten. On the other side Makoto didn’t complain, it was kind of cozy and he didn’t mind the lacking space. The real part he was missing was the garden. Now there was only a little balcony with a few flower pots and one little cherry blossom tree. Makoto already missed the feeling of the soft grass or the smell of fresh earth, nevertheless he tried to stay positive.

He could still be with Haru and Yoshi without being left behind and that was the main point.   
Looking at the sleeping kitten, he softly stroked his back. At least Yoshi was with him and later he could visit Sousuke who was living right next door. He felt really relieved after hearing that Rin and Sousuke would come to Tokyo too. Even if his friend didn’t like the idea he was still happy that he could meet him frequently again.   
Turning his gaze to the clock on the wall, he watched the ticking watch hands. Only 5 minutes passed since Haru was gone. Sighing, he dropped his ears. It was still toooooo long till his human would come back. He turned lazily the TV on and followed some early morning news. Only listening halfheartedly he wagged his tail slowly from side to side, thinking about the things he could do. Maybe enjoying some picture books, or maybe playing N3ds? He even had a small set of crayons now because Haru liked drawing and he would encourage the dogboy to do the same. In contrast to his human Makoto wasn’t that good at painting, he could only draw simple things like some flowers, butterflies or cat faces. Nevertheless he enjoyed it because it was his first time using crayons and as well his own!

Thinking merrily about the drawing sessions together with his human, Makoto wagged happily. But then he remembered that now he couldn’t do that because Haru wasn’t here…

Haru…

With a sad face he stood up and trotted into the bedroom. He was still sleeping on the floor in his usual futon while Haru had a small one sized bed. His human had already tried to persuade him that it was time for him to get his own bed but Makoto denied it. He wanted to sleep with Haru in the same room, as near as possible and when he would get a real bed, he had to sleep on the other side of the room and that wasn’t acceptable for him. So he defended his futon with all his might, without bothering Haru of course.

Sniffing at the air, he closed his eyes for a few moments. He could still smell Haru and his unique scent so he walked blindly a few steps forward till he hit the side of the bed. He opened his eyes in surprise and was hit by an idea.   
He could…well…Looking around as if he would check that no one was looking, he crawled into Haru’s bed and pressed his nose in one of the pillows. Taking a long sniff, he sighed contently. Everything smelled of Haru and he liked it so much. It calmed him and if he closed his eyes tightly he could almost imagine that Haru was lying beside him. He didn’t want to be weak and he didn’t want to be clingy but now he felt so lonely that his heart ached. Knowing that his human wouldn’t come home for the next hours, that he had to stay here, patiently waiting for him, his loneliness grew with each passing thought. But he had to stay positive he reminded himself because he could still stay with Haru and he was able to wait for him and maybe Haru would be even happy that he patiently waited for him, like a good boy…

With a soft smile and slow wagging tail, he pressed his face in the fluffy pillow. Then he felt a light weight on his side and turned his head. The little calico kitten was sitting beside him, looking at him with his big bright eyes.

“Meow.”

“Ahahaha Yoshi, did you find me already?” asked Makoto sweetly and patted the little head.

“Meow.” Yoshi came a little bit closer and curled himself up. 

“Seems like we’ll sleep a little bit more, hm?” asked Makoto with a smile and laid back. 

Closing his eyes, he enjoyed his human’s scent and the nice warm of the kitten at his side. He thought about his sweet memories in Iwatobi and dreamed of the upcoming new events in Tokyo. 

 

Drowsily blinking a few times, the brunette dogboy looked at his surroundings in confusion. Then he remembered that he was walking into the bedroom and lying on Haru’s bed and…Checking the pillows and blanket around him, he sighed relieved. He could make the bed again and Haru wouldn’t even notice that he had slept in his bed. On the one side Makoto was ashamed and embarrassed, he didn’t want to lie to his human and he didn’t want to hide it but on the other side he didn’t want to let the other know what he was doing. What would Haru think of him?   
So he slowly left the bed, waking Yoshi up in the process and began to make the bed. When he had finished his task, he trotted back into the living room followed by the little calico kitten. Checking the clock for the 10th time he sighed disappointed. It was only 11am and he needed to wait at least another 6 hours if not longer…

Maybe Sousuke was up already? Makoto’s ears twitched in anticipation. With wagging tail he walked over to the phone and observed it. He had two options: leaving the apartment and having the risk of not getting in again or calling his friend. Of course the brunette dogboy chose the safe way, so he dialed the already memorized number of their neighbors and waited nervously while listening to the ring.

A sleepy voice answered his call. “Yes?”

“S-Sousuke?” asked Makoto shyly.

“Yeah I saw your number in the display Makoto, what’s up?” Sousuke yawned while scratching one of his ears. He had slept until now, only waking up once when Rin said goodbye and left for his training. In contrast to their house in Iwatobi, Rin used one room of the flat as ‘gym room’. He bought a treadmill and other expensive training tools so that he could easily work out in his free time while watching TV or listen to his favorite music. So Sousuke didn’t need to wake up for a morning run but instead planned a jogging session during the day.

“Ah yes, sorry did I wake you up?” asked the brunette dogboy with a hint of guilt in his voice.

“No, it’s fine. What do you want?” asked the other grumpily while slumping down on the couch.

“Eh I wanted to ask you if you want to come over I mean we could do something together like watching a movie or play some games. Only if you want I mean if you planned something else I-“

“It’s okay Makoto, don’t panic, I’ll come over” interrupted Sousuke and walked back into his room searching for some clothes.

“Ah okay, okay! I’m really looking forward to your visit!” replied Makoto relieved and wagged happily with his tail. Yoshi was already eying the moving fur, but instead of attacking chose to sit down and observe some more.

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll be over in 5 minutes.” When I find my fucking clothes, thought Sousuke to himself and cursed inside. He somehow forgot where he put his jeans.

“Okay got it, shall I make something?” Makoto looked at the fridge with shining eyes.

“No no! I’m not hungry… just… wait, okay?” replied his friend hastily and smirked when he finally found the missing item.

“Mhm…fine, see you soon!”

Makoto ended the call and put the phone back to its usual place. Studying the little calico kitten beside him, he smiled and walked over to the stove. Tea would be fine, Sousuke liked tea and he himself enjoyed it too so there was nothing wrong with preparing tea. 

 

Sousuke rubbed his neck and checked the time. There were a few hours more till Rin would come back. But visiting Makoto was a nice distraction otherwise he would sleep all day while thinking about his human.   
Grabbing some video games and DVD’s he put the key in his pocket and left the flat. Knocking a few times at the door he could hear some rumbling from the other side. Lifting one of his eyebrows in question he eyed the door critically. After a few moments his friend opened the door with a cheerful smile.

“Hello Sousuke! Nice to see you!”

“Yeah, hi Makoto.” The black haired dogboy entered the entrance while handing the games and movies over. Doffing his shoes lazily, he trotted into the living room when his gaze fell on the small table. There were 2 cups and a little teapot neatly placed on it. Looking at his friend, Makoto could clearly see the question in his eyes. He rubbed his neck in embarrassment and said, “I made us tea. Don’t worry, Haru helped me several times and now I’m able to do it on my own.”

Still kind of confused Sousuke sat down on the couch and eyed the teapot. Makoto hurried after him and immediately served him the tea with a hint of pride in his smile. The black haired dogboy took the little teacup and sniffed at its content. It smelt like green tea, with a hint of…citrus? Taking an experimental sip, his eyes became big in suprise. It was good, seriously, it was really good. Even if it was plain tea and easy to make, for Makoto being able to produce something like this was outstanding because Sousuke knew how much the other sucked at cooking, or being in the kitchen in general. Noticing the surprised look on his friends face, Makoto chuckled.

“Delicious, right?”

“Mhm” grunted the other and took another sip.

“Meow!” Yoshi was standing beside Sousuke on the couch and eyed him critically.

Patting the small head with his big hand, he said softly, “Sorry Yoshi, hello.”

Makoto smiled by the sight and asked curiously, “So what are we going to do?”

“I bought games and DVD’s with me, you can choose.”

The brunette dogboy studied excitedly the covers. Recognizing one of his most favorite games, he grabbed the colorful cover and exclaimed happily, “Sousuke let’s play ‘Deep blue – struggle of the sea’!”

His friend rubbed his head and uttered a grumpy “Fine.” Sousuke already knew how this would end. 

Both of them took their controllers and eyed the screen in concentration. “Ready?” asked Makoto merrily while smiling at the other.

“Ready” replied Sousuke solemnly and tightened his grip.

 

“Woah that was fun!” chirped Makoto cheerfully when he placed the controller on the coffee table.

“Only because you won again” answered Sousuke grumpily and frowned.

“Awe come on Sousuke, don’t be a sore loser…” said his friend teasingly and poked his side.

“Tch stop that!”

The brunette dogboy only chuckled and wagged happily. Checking the time, he grinned in expectation, 2 hours left. The other followed his gaze. His frown disappeared and with crossed arms he thoughtfully looked at the now black screen.

After a few moments he peeked at his friend and asked, “I have to cook dinner in a while, how about we do it together?”

“C-Cooking dinner?” With big eyes Makoto looked at the other in surprise. 

“I’ll help you and when we do it together it will be faster” added Sousuke and looked at him in expectation.

“Ah, well…you know I can’t really cook…” The brunette dogboy rubbed his neck embarrassed.

“I know that’s why I’ll help.”

Shyly looking at the other, Makoto nodded and mumbled, “Thanks Sousuke that would be nice.”

“No problem, let’s begin” mumbled his friend and stood up. “By the way any suggestions for the meal?” he asked over his shoulder.

Makoto tilted thoughtfully his head and touched his chin. Then he exclaimed cheerfully, “Haru likes mackerel, how about we make a mackerel dish! He would be really happy!”

Sousuke only shrugged and walked towards the kitchen.

“Ah Haru will be really surprised and happy to eat mackerel.” With wagging tail the brunette dogboy followed his friend.

“Rin prefers meat” said Sousuke quietly while taking a pan out of the closet.

Makoto dropped his ears. “But that’s…we don’t have to make mackerel…”

“We do both, okay?” Within an instant Makoto brightened up again and chirped “Yes that’s good!”

“Now check the fridge for the ingredients, we need…”

And so the two dogboys began to prepare their first dinner in Tokyo together to surprise their precious humans.

 

Haru opened his front door totally exhausted. The first training days were always the worst. He needed a while to adjust to the rough regime of his coach, especially the runs for additional stamina spent his whole energy. So when he was hit with a smell that he knew for his entire life, he gaped. Hurriedly shrugging off his bag and shoes, he ran into the kitchen and with big eyes looked at the scene before him. 

Sousuke and Makoto were cooking together, and the black haired dogboy directed the other quietly and calmly while the other fidgeted with the pots and ingredients. Both were totally captivated by their doing because nobody noticed the human standing beside the door. Haru took another sniff and speculated about the upcoming meal. It smelled like mackerel, and some vegetables and miso soup and there was meat somewhere…

Haru took a few steps forward when the dogboys’ ears twitched. Almost immediately the two turned around. With surprised eyes Sousuke looked at the human before him while Makoto brightened up and jumped at him.

“Haru! Welcome home! Sousuke and I made dinner!”

When Haru was finally able to detach himself from the brunette dogboy, he looked over the other’s shoulder, glanced at Sousuke and nodded once.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” The black haired dogboy replied awkwardly while rubbing his neck. “Dinner will be ready in a few moments.”

“I’ll get Rin” said Haru shortly and walked away.

Sousuke cleared his throat and said seriously, “Now we have to serve it right, understand Makoto?”

“Yes! Understand!” replied his friend merrily with wagging tail. He was so looking forward to dinner, and being with Haru and Sousuke and Rin and everything was so awesome now.

 

When Rin returned home, he was surprised that Sousuke wasn’t waiting for him. Somehow he thought that maybe the dogboy would greet him but well…  
Sousuke was Sousuke so it was like him to watch TV or something. Entering the living room, he lifted one of his eyebrows. 

No Sousuke…

Then he went into the bedroom, maybe he was still sleeping? 

No Sousuke…

Rin’s exhaustion vanished in an instant. Worry was filling him, where could the dogboy be? Bathroom? But the bathroom was also empty, no trace of his friend. The redhead went back to his bag and rummaged irritated through it in search for his cell phone when he heard a few knocks on the front door. Dashing to the entrance, he was surprised that two blue eyes were looking at him.

“Haru, why are you here?” asked Rin flabbergasted.

“Dinner. Sousuke and Makoto cooked.” And without another word his friend turned around and walked back to his own flat, leaving his door open. 

For a moment Rin stood still. But when he could smell the faint scent of food, his stomach growled loudly. Within a second he grabbed his keys and rushed to the other flat, following this delicious scent.

He was greeted with a well-laid table full of tasty looking dishes: There were some steaks, miso soup, roasted mackerel, cooked vegetables, rolled eggs and even salad. Rin’s mouth began to water, gosh he really was hungry.

“Hello Rin! Please sit down, dinner is ready!” said Makoto cheerfully and pointed at the seat before him.

“Hey. Sit down I already prepared your plate” added Sousuke while placing a huge plate full of food on his place.

“This looks awesome man” replied the redhead in amazement.

“No big deal” mumbled Sousuke and took his seat.

“Let’s enjoy our meal” said Haru calmly while grabbing his chopsticks.

“I hope you all like it!” exclaimed Makoto merrily and clapped his hands.

When Haru took the first bite of mackerel, he smiled softly. It was perfect, the way he liked it. Showing the brunette dogboy beside him his tiny smile, Makoto grinned broadly full of pride. Rin devoured his steak greedily within a few moments while moaning contently. He loved meat, especially steak and this was the best thing after a tough training day. Sousuke hide his grin when he secretly watched his human eating his meal in delight. He enjoyed the sight every time but he would never tell Rin. 

Everybody sighted contently with full stomachs. Only a few leftovers remained on the plate in the middle of the table while each individual one was as clean as at the very beginning. Makoto and Sousuke took the used dishes away and returned with a bowl of pudding. 

“We made dessert too!” exclaimed Makoto happily and studied the pudding with bright green eyes. He loved pudding and he was secretly waiting for it during the whole dinner. Filling each little bowl with the dessert, he distributed them around the group of friends with a smile on his lips. He liked these dinners together, especially the warm and friendly atmosphere. Now Tokyo felt a lot more like home.

 

 

 

Sousuke was lying in his bed crossing his arms under his head and looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. Rin was already soundly asleep next door because his training totally exhausted him. 

The black haired dogboy returned to his room when his human wished him a good night and prepared himself for his own bedtime. But sleep wouldn’t arrive and Sousuke was already so annoyed by it that he turned restlessly from left to right and back. His mind was running in circles. 

It had been only one fucking day but he was already Rin deprived. The missing hours of their daily time together influenced him immensely. Of course he hid the fact that he wanted to jump at his human or sniff at his wonderful scent when he finally, finally returned home. 

Makoto was a good distraction but what would he have done if Makoto wasn’t there? Shit, there was no solution and he already made the decision to work on himself and these stupid things called feelings and emotions. Longing was something new for him. Never in his life did he feel something like this, like wanting to have something so badly that he would do anything for it, at all costs. It drove him crazy. 

Annoyed he snorted a few times and frowned while checking his room. Then he slowly left his bed without making a sound. He needed to be silent, like a shadow or a ninja. He opened his door only a little bit so he could peek through a little gap. The hallway was dark and empty, perfect. Sneaking on tiptoes past his human’s door, he quietly entered the bathroom. Following his nose he already found the thing he was looking for. He hesitantly grabbed the shirt and returned to his room the same way he did before. The whole time he listened anxiously for any unusual sounds or noises that could betray him. His ears twitched continuously till he finally closed his door as quiet as possible. Taking a shaky breath, he looked at the shirt in his arms.

He felt dirty and crazy and stupid but he couldn’t think of anything else that would help him and Makoto had told him that…it would help…

So he crawled back into his bed, still pressing the shirt tightly against his chest. When he felt safe again, he took an experimental sniff at the clothing and sighed contently. 

God, how he had missed this smell… 

It felt like this closeness never disappeared. Burying his nose in the shirt he closed his eyes tightly. Yes, this was his lowest action till now and yes he felt ashamed, but the joy and relief he gained because of it dispelled all these negative thoughts. 

Gosh, it was just so…

Rubbing his face at the soft fabric, he took a deep breath. He was a creep, and he knew it, but a fucking good feeling creep. With a soft smile on his lips he enjoyed every part of his accomplishment to his fullest. Thinking about his human Sousuke finally, slowly but surely, fell asleep while hugging the black shirt tightly. In his last coherent thoughts he reminded himself that he had to hide it when he would wake up otherwise it would be pretty embarrassing if Rin found him like this and he didn’t really have a good explanation for this, well…at least a good one which wouldn’t cause even more problems.

 

 

Makoto hugged Shiro gently with one arm while patting little Yoshi with his other hand.

“Good night Yoshi” whispered the dogboy softly and listened to the soft purrs of the kitten. 

When he stopped his stroking, the calico kitten curled himself up and closed his eyes. From time to time Yoshi would switch his sleeping place between him and Haru. One day he slept with him, the other day he would accompany Haru and so on. He still couldn’t find a pattern that would explain these changes but cats were a whole mystery on their own and Makoto knew this. 

“Night Haru” said the brunette dogboy quietly, guessing that his human was already asleep thanks to his serious and exhausting training. 

“Mhm night” mumbled Haru tiredly from his bed. He was already buried in pillows and blankets so that only his mop of black hair was still visible.

Makoto took quite a while till he got used to the nightlife of Tokyo because it was just so different from Iwatobi. There were still so much noises and lights although it was already this late.   
Tokyo never sleeps said Haru once when he noticed Makoto’s problems. Of course they shut the shutters tightly and closed the windows so there was no disturbance of their sleep but it was still not enough for the brunette dogboy. Because of his good hearing he had to press his hands over his ears to get some quietness and sometimes he would curse his ability which bothered him in these times. In comparison to that the lights outside didn’t bother him that much. It was more like he greeted them with a smiling face because now he didn’t need his nightlight anymore. 

Nevertheless he turned to his other side, shutting his eyes tightly. He already tried using his earphones but it didn’t help at all. The damping wasn’t just big enough. Haru had told him that he should give him word but he didn’t want to disturb him…especially after a tiring day…  
Biting his lip he eyed the bed a few steps away from his futon. There was no movement so Haru was already asleep?

“I know you can’t sleep…” mumbled Haru softly, “come here…” He slowly patted with his hand at the free place beside him.

Makoto perked up. He watched his human with big green eyes and replied embarrassed, “Ah don’t worry Haru I’ll be able to sleep in a few moments, don’t mind me…”

“Come here” repeated his human grumpily and frowned. 

Of course the obedient dogboy would never disobey so he trotted over to the bed while holding Shiro and Yoshi in his arms. Carefully placing them on a soft pillow, he lay down on the soft mattress with a creaking sound and crawled under the blanket, trying to use as few space as possible. 

“The bed is big enough Makoto” mumbled Haru beside him and came closer. 

Now Makoto was confronted with a mop of black hair in front of his eyes and a warm body hugging him tightly. His heart was racing and the blush on his cheeks traveled down to his neck. Luckily it wasn’t bright enough to be seen by human eyes. He took a few nervous breaths to regain some of his composure while looking at his human who slept peacefully beside him. This was the first time for him being this close to Haru. Of course they hugged from time to time and held hands now and then but this was definitely new. 

“Haru…” Makoto whispered softly with shaking voice. 

He was just so…overwhelmed and he didn’t know what he felt because his body tingled everywhere where Haru touched him and it was annoying and frightening and…amazing…  
Makoto took another shaky breath and hesitantly raised his hand to his human’s head. Only his fingertips touched the strains of black hair because he was afraid that he might wake him up. But Haru kept on sleeping so the dogboy began to stroke his scalp with outmost care as if he was touching something fragile. Nuzzling into the fluffy pillow beside his human, Makoto stroked the soft hair happily till he got too tired and wasn’t able to continue on. His hand slumped down on Haru’s cheek but he didn’t notice it. He blinked slowly a few times, seeing Yoshi’s brown white fur from the corner of his eyes and the blinking lights from outside. Finally closing his eyes completely, he slid a little bit closer into Haru’s arms and pressed his face against the others shoulder. With a content sight he fell asleep, unconsciously listening to the constant beats of his human’s heart.

 

 

 

It became a habit for Nagisa and Rei that the dogboy would be the first one to wake up. Then he would refresh and change himself before he would wake up his human. The blonde loved to sleep in therefore Rei would do one wake up call, prepare breakfast, then he would call the second one and after preparing freshly brewed tea he would call the last and final one and Nagisa knew this by now. So he waited in his bed already awake and hid under his blanket. When he heard the other’s footsteps coming nearer and nearer, he suddenly threw the blanket away, grabbed the dogboy and pulled him into his bed. Nagisa laughed crazily once he saw Rei’s surprised face and heard sputtering noises. 

“N-Nagisa-kun!” stuttered the dogboy nervously. “What are you doing? This is not the time for playing jokes!”

“Awe Rei-chan! Good morning!” greeted his human merrily while grinning broadly. 

Clearing his throat, the other replied, “Good morning.”

Tilting his head, Nagisa looked at the dogboy with eyes full of expectation.

Rei adjusted his glasses in confusion and eyed the blonde.

“Where’s my morning kiss?” asked his human innocently while pointing at his cheek.

The blue haired dogboy spluttered loudly. “W-What are you talking about there-“

And his sentence was cut off when Nagisa suddenly pecked him on the cheek with a big grin and jumped out of the bed. Enjoying the flabbergasted look on Rei’s face, the blonde began to change his clothes. After a few moments Rei regained his consciousness and with a bright red face dashed out of the room. Nagisa only snickered because yes, Rei was adorable and yes, this wasn’t the first time.

 

“I already miss them”, said Nagisa with a pouting face while laying his head on the blank table.   
Rei and he were eating a few moments ago and after devouring his dessert as always he remembered that his best friends were now away again. They left for their training and Nagisa would never complain about it because he knew that they both needed to do it. Nevertheless he couldn’t shake this uneasiness away. Every year was the same routine: Haru and Rin would return home for a few months and then leave again. But this year was different, now Rei was by his side and he wasn’t alone anymore. Nevertheless he missed his friends and he had no intention of hiding it. 

Rei noticed the change in his human’s attitude. It was rather obvious. And even if he knew the others only for a short amount of time he couldn’t deny that he missed them too. Nagisa’s friends, their friends were so nice and such a pleasant company that Rei could feel the missing part in his heart. 

Clearing his throat the dogboy mumbled softly, “Me too.” 

Nagisa blinked a few times till he understood his words completely. Then he abruptly stood up and crossed the left space between Rei and him. He gently hugged the dogboy while rubbing his face on the other's shoulder.

“But we will stay together, right Rei-chan?” asked Nagisa hopefully.

“Yes” replied Rei simply.

There was no need for additional words or beautiful descriptions, that one simple word was enough for Nagisa. He tightened his arms around the dogboy and sighed.

“Thanks.” 

They stayed like this for a few minutes till Rei’s diligence and embarrassment forced him to destroy this peaceful moment.

“Nagisa-kun its time for you to go to work otherwise you will be late”, explained the dogboy flustered.

“But I want to stay with you”, pouted the blonde and rubbed his head against the other's shoulder.

“Nagisa-kun this is no time for acting like a child.” He lectured sternly but the softness around his eyes showed his fondness.

“Ne ne Rei-chan, how about you go with me?” proposed Nagisa pleadingly while pulling on his arm.

Rei looked at his human in confusion and tilted his head. “Why would I?”

“Rei-chaaaaaaaaan, aren’t you curious what I do for a living?” 

“Eh well…” stuttered the dogboy while adjusting his glasses. “I am interested in your profession but there’s n-“

“Then it’s settled! You’re coming with me today!” exclaimed Nagisa cheerfully and dragged the confused dogboy with him. 

 

Rei studied the blonde beside him when both walked side by side along the avenue. Somehow over time he began to call his human ‘Nagisa-kun’ instead of ‘Nagisa-san’. He felt emotionally attached to his human and he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the other’s cheerful and happy expression when he noticed it, of course right away, because in contrast to his first impression Nagisa paid a lot of attention to his surroundings, especially his friends and family. He always knew when something was bothering him therefore he tried to show the same attitude towards the other. Sometimes his human could be really pushy or overexcited and sometimes you got the feeling that he wasn’t paying attention, but he did and he was really sensitive in contrast to his outer appearance.   
Rei studied the happy smile on Nagisa’s face and listened to the soft humming. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes for a brief moment. He enjoyed Nagisa’s company and now walking side by side with him, knowing that they would spend the whole day together, he couldn’t stop the growing excitement. With confident eyes and wagging tail, he faced the front.

 

Rei sighed exhausted. This day had been really tiring, in a lot of ways. So many new humans he had to introduce himself, so many questions about his being and interests, on the other side hateful eyes and frowning expressions…and then there was Nagisa’s tour around Iwatobi and its region…  
He actually did enjoy the tour he had to admit and there were a lot of new information he really needed to remember but a group of 20 people, including curious children and wary elders was definitely too much for him. 

He admired his human’s cheerful way of talking to strangers and his never ending friendliness. Even when an old man didn’t understand him and he had to explain the place they had visited for the third time, Nagisa’s happy expression didn’t falter. He explained everything like the first time without any hint of annoyance. His human was really full of surprises, thought the dogboy while the two of them went back to their apartment. Every time he saw a new side of the blonde he felt happy all of a sudden because now he knew more about him and his personality. It was like an endless mystery he revealed step by step. Yes, Nagisa-kun was definitely a mystery, concluded Rei and touched his chin thoughtfully.

“Hey Rei-chan, wanna try my meat bun?” asked Nagisa curiously. 

Coming back to the present, Rei blinked a few times and peeked at the blonde beside him. Then he answered politely, “No thank you Nagisa-kun.”

“But Rei-chan it’s really delicious you need to try it!” And without wasting any time the blonde stuffed the bun in the dogboy’s mouth. 

With big eyes Rei looked at the bun and was speechless, literally. He didn’t know what to do. Should he eat it? Should he deny it? Should he be angry? But the shining pink eyes and Nagisa’s face full of expectation gave him the answer. He shyly took a little bite while turning his gaze to the other side. His human happily took the rest of the bun and ate it himself.  
Actually it really was delicious, Rei admitted. While chewing the bite, he peeked at the blonde again. Nagisa was still smiling while eating. 

Then a loud “Ah!” from his human let him shudder in astonishment.

Nagisa became shy all of a sudden and blushed. Rei observed the other attentively while adjusting his glasses.

“What is the matter Nagisa-kun?” asked the blue haired dogboy curiously.

Nagisa peeked at him for a brief moment but hurriedly turned his face away again. He couldn’t make eye contact with Rei-chan, not now…  
Then when he finally got enough courage he mumbled softly, “Indirect kiss.”

Puzzled Rei studied the blonde beside him. Indirect kiss? Cerebrating, he crossed his arms and tried to find the right definition of the said words. His tail wagged listlessly from side to side, trying to find an answer but he didn’t know what it meant, what an indirect kiss was…and he felt ashamed because he hated it when he didn’t know something, it was irritating and annoying. 

There was no other way, he had to ask Nagisa-kun so he cleared his throat and asked embarrassed, “Nagisa-kun, what is an indirect kiss?”

With big eyes Nagisa gaped. He looked at the dogboy in disbelieve but Rei turned his gaze away. How could somebody not know this? Nagisa’s embarrassment vanished and was replaced with curiosity. 

“You seriously don’t know?” asked Nagisa skeptically.

“I wouldn’t ask if I would know it!” replied the dogboy scandalized and crossed his arms. He already was ashamed of himself for not knowing so Nagisa-kun didn’t have to rub it in his face. 

Seeing that the other was offended by his comment, Nagisa hurriedly answered, “Hey it’s okay Rei-chan I only wanted to make sure…” 

His human looked at his feet. Then he searched for the other’s gaze and continued, “An indirect kiss is when our lips touch the same place, like when I gave you the bun, your lips touched it and then my lips touched the same spot and…it’s like a kiss only that we don’t touch directly, that’s the reason why it’s called indirect kiss.”

Nagisa explained everything in a calm voice while looking into curious lavender eyes. When he finally finished he could practically watch Rei’s blush appearing on his cheeks and spreading to his neck while understanding dawned on him. 

Both looked embarrassed at the other side, trying to evade eye contact for the moment. 

Then after a few minutes of walking, Nagisa said thoughtfully while rubbing his upper arms, “Somehow it got really cold, don’t you think?”

Peeking at the blonde beside him Rei was surprised and relieved that Nagisa had dropped the previous subject. He touched his chin while trying to remember the morning news. “I checked the weather announcement today and the temperature should be at least 15C°.”

“But it feels a lot colder Rei-chan!” whined his human with a pout.

“We are almost home so try to bear with it” replied the dogboy calmly and peeked again at his human. There was no trace of embarrassment anymore but he could see the goose bumps on Nagisa’s arms. Both were only wearing shirts and shorts but Rei took a jacket with him, just in case he needed it. He prepared himself for every upcoming possibility and he couldn’t see his human being cold in front of him without doing anything so with a sigh he took his jacket off and placed it over the other’s shoulders. Surprised Nagisa eyed the jacket and then the dogboy beside him.

“You didn’t need to…”

“It’s fine Nagisa-kun. I’m not feeling cold.” Rei adjusted his glasses and studied the blonde boy. Nagisa was looking along the arms of the jacket with a small smile and gentle eyes.

“Thank you Rei-chan” he said softly and the other could clearly hear his feelings in every syllable.

Now Rei became embarrassed again because Nagisa’s voice was so soft and fragile that something in his chest began to sting. His cheeks felt hot again and turning his face away, he mumbled, “My pleasure.”

Both of them walked in silence for the rest of the way. But it wasn’t an unpleasant atmosphere, it was more like each one of them was busy with organizing his own thoughts and feelings.


	17. First Longing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!  
> Holidays really make the difference, I was finally able to finish this chapter (/^▽^)/  
> I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I wrote it (≧∀≦)  
> If you have any questions or feedback pls let me know, you're all so awesome and nice and I'm really grateful that you read the story so far ☆*✲ﾟ*｡(((´♡‿♡`+)))｡*ﾟ✲*☆   
> Thanks for all your comments and kudos, they always make my day ♡〜٩(^▿^)۶〜♡ see you next time ヾ(´∀｀○)ﾉ

Makoto knew that Sousuke was struggling. He didn’t need to imagine his painful longing and hiding and feeling ashamed because he felt exactly the same way. He wished he could help him somehow but the only person who could was his human Rin. There was nobody else who could ease the uncomfortable feeling.   
Distraction was a nice offer but it would only switch his attention for a short amount of time and then the longing would return with even more force. Makoto knew this only too well. 

Sometimes he missed his human so much that he would wander around the apartment, trying to find something that smelled like Haru, and sometimes he would sleep in Haru’s bed, every time feeling ashamed and being afraid of being seen. 

Nevertheless he kept himself together because he had Yoshi, Sousuke and his new interest: growing plants on the balcony. He watered the few plants and the little cherry tree with outmost care. Soon the little blossoms would bloom and then the balcony would be painted in the most beautiful colors. He was already looking forward to it. 

Sniffing cautiously at the little cherry blossoms with closed eyes his tail wagged contently. The scent of flowers reminded him of Iwatobi and the little tulip field and the rose bushes and…

Opening his eyes again he softly stroked the rose petals and looked carefully over the balcony. At first the view scared him because of the height and the mass of houses and towers and concrete and missing green but he got used to it. Of course he was still scared but he was able to look over the handrail for at least a few moments and he was really proud of himself. It was a little victory over his many fears he still had.

Closing balcony door behind himself he trotted into the living room and checked the clock. Sometimes it was really hard for him when the hours didn’t want to pass. Today was one of these days.   
He sat down on the couch and patted gently Yoshi’s head. In Tokyo he got used to a lot of new things, for example like waiting. It wasn’t a pleasant activity but at least he was looking forward to seeing his owner, in contrast to his previous ones. 

He never asked Haru if he missed him too, he was way too embarrassed for that but somehow he was also afraid to know, what if he didn’t miss him? It would crush his heart so if he didn’t know, he was still able to imagine that Haru did and that was enough for him. The thought alone let his heart flutter every time and made him smile. 

Listening to the ticking of the clock he thought about little snacks he could prepare for his human later. In 2 hours and 42 minutes he would go into the kitchen and prepare tea. Then he would open a package of rice crackers and try to build a little face with it. Haru liked these faces and sometimes he would even laugh.   
He knew exactly the remaining time because he already tried every possible variation. If he would prepare the tea too early it would be too cold for his human because Haru liked his tea hot and if he prepared it too late it would miss flavor. Stroking Yoshi’s soft fur, he imagined Haru’s swim practice, how he would enjoy the cold water and his most favorite activity.

 

Haru enjoyed his swim training. In the water he felt at home, more like it was his second one and he would never miss his swimming time. Nevertheless he couldn’t deny that he missed the brunette dogboy in those times. 

It sounded stupid because he saw him every morning and evening when he returned from his training but for Haru it wasn’t enough. He wanted to see Makoto more and every time when the weekend arrived he was torn between being sad because he couldn’t swim on Sunday and being happy because he could spend 24 hours with the dogboy. 

One day while Haru was swimming his laps and thinking about his new life with Makoto and Yoshi in Tokyo, it dawned on him. He came to a conclusion. Now he knew why he caught himself at staring mindlessly at Makoto from time to time or why he wanted to touch him more or why his smile was so dazzling that he couldn’t tear his eyes of. 

He wasn’t hit by a train like others described it and he wasn’t really surprised, it was more like he finally understood something, like pieces falling into place. He loved Makoto, but not the way he loved his friends and family, it was completely different, it was deeper…no…that was the wrong description…

While searching for the right words, Haru lazily swam his laps, ignoring the shouting coach at the pool side.

It felt like Makoto filled a part of his heart he didn’t knew that it existed. He felt whole, somehow… Yeah it was really weird to describe feelings, especially for him.

Actually it was the first time for him to feel like this. His previous relationship was nothing in comparison to that. It wasn’t like he didn’t love his previous girlfriend, it was just not like he loved Makoto. He appreciated her presence and he cared for her but it wasn’t like he was burning with desire for her. Of course it hurt but it was bearable when she left him because of his ‘indifference’. She still didn’t notice his feelings after their time together therefore he assumed that maybe she wasn’t the right one. If he was honest it was much easier to live alone than being with someone who had expectations of him he couldn’t fulfill.  
If he summarized the outcome of his previous ‘romantic’ relationships then it would be disaster.  
And after a while he didn’t feel the need to even try, even if Rin pestered him about girls and parties and enjoying life. 

He was content with being alone for years but now the mere thought of living without Makoto scared him to death. It let him shiver in fear, let him sweat uncontrollably and made him think of things he would never thought of himself doing.   
So he stopped these dangerous thoughts and concentrated on the spreading warmth in his heart, the little butterflies in his stomach and the beautiful green eyes which filled his mind.

 

When he returned home this one special day he thought at first that something would change because of his new development but in fact everything remained the same. Maybe he was more affectionate, or appreciated it more when Makoto bended down to pick the fallen spoon up, or that his tail wagged cutely from side to side when he was thinking hard. Okay, he ogled Makoto a lot more he had to admit but the other didn’t seem to notice, thankfully. 

Actually he had the impression that the dogboy had no idea what he was feeling right know and Haru knew that if he wanted to take another step, wanted to change something between them he had to initiate it. 

Therefore Haru made the decision that he wouldn’t hold himself back anymore. He would show Makoto how much he loved him, how much he appreciated his presence. 

So he patted Makoto’s head without hesitation, he held his hand every time he felt like it and he let Makoto sleep in his bed so he could enjoy the other’s presence during his sleep. He never imagined that he would be a touchy feeling person like Nagisa but when it came to Makoto everything seemed different, or more precisely he was acting different. 

Of course the dogboy answered his unsaid wishes without batting an eye and sometimes Haru asked himself if he was too selfish, if he bothered Makoto with his actions. Normally he was a patient person and he really cerebrated a lot about how to tell him, so much that he even got the one or other headache but he couldn’t find a real answer because the moment should be perfect. But maybe he didn’t even need to say it because Makoto would understand him and his actions…

 

The poor brunette dogboy was rather overwhelmed when his human started to be clingier. He would pat his head every time he waited at the entrance for his arrival and sometimes he would grab his hand out of nowhere and held it for the whole evening. Makoto couldn’t deny that the first times were rather awkward because he was blushing wildly and dying of embarrassment but after some days he got somehow used to it and if he was really honest he loved this new attention. It let his heart flutter every time when Haru would slowly come closer to his side and lean on him, placing his head on his shoulder. Then he would take a quick sniff at Haru’s hair which smelled just so good and sigh in bliss.

Actually he enjoyed it so much that he would be devastated if his human stopped this new behavior because it was just so amazing and wonderful and…

Shaking his head Makoto looked at the clock. There were still a few hours left. When the phone rang, he checked the number on the display and smiled.

“Hello Sousuke!”

 

 

He had to tell him what he was feeling. Haru looked blankly at the passing people while listening to his favorite music. He had to tell Makoto what he was feeling…because it seemed like Makoto was pretty dense, no matter what he did, like holding hands, staring into the other’s eyes or cuddling, the dogboy didn’t understand his true intention.

But…

It was so difficult…

Saying three simple words…

And he cursed inside because he was so angry about himself and his lack of communication. He played the scene over and over in his mind but was distracted by his worries about Makoto. 

What would he do if the dogboy would misunderstand him? What if he didn’t like him the way he did? What if he would accept his feelings because of guilt or gratefulness? What would he do if he would loose Makoto?

Haru frowned.

He wasn’t confident like Rin who exactly knew his handsome appearance and could wrap girls around his little finger, and he wasn’t as open as Nagisa who could chat with every person despise their age or standing.

There were just many things Haru had to consider that with each passing day he became more and more impatient and frustrated with himself and the whole situation. Each time he decided to tell the brunette dogboy the magical words he hastily changed his mind the moment he saw Makoto’s green eyes filled with questions. His throat felt tight, his tongue was numb and out of embarrassment he would turn his face away.

Yes, he was definitely irritated.

 

One day while both were eating dinner Haru took all of his courage and looked determinate at the kitchen table. He would do it today. No shoving back. No bitching around. Clenching his hands, he said sternly,

“Makoto.” 

Surprised the dogboy looked from his plate to his human. “Yes?”

Haru gulped. He bit his lip while searching for the right words to begin. What was the best way to start? He had thought about this over and over again and finally knew what he wanted to say but now everything had vanished within an instant. Frustrated he clenched his fists.

“Haru?” Makoto tilted his head in question while his eyes were filled with worry. His human looked stressed and he didn’t know why. What did he want to say? Maybe it had something to do with him? Maybe he did something wrong and Haru didn’t want to scold him but he had to? Or maybe something bad happened to one of his friends and he would tell him now?  
With big eyes the dogboy looked at the other while his tail wagged nervously from side to side.

Somehow Haru’s mouth felt so dry. How could he say something important if his mouth was as dry as the desert? So he took a big gulp of tea and faced the dogboy again. 

“Makoto.” He said again and took a deep breath. The brunette dogboy waited patiently with growing worry.

“I…like you…” announced Haru with a hint of nervousness. First he turned his face embarrassed away till he had enough courage to look at the other with big blue eyes, hoping that he would understand his message.

“I like you too Haru” replied Makoto relieved with a slight blush on his cheeks. He fumbled with his tail while trying to evade the other’s eyes. Of course he liked Haru, how could he not?! He was so gentle and nice and cool and pretty and strong and…

Haru sighed. He had the feeling that Makoto didn’t get what he meant with his ‘like’. Makoto looked surprised up while studying Haru’s face attentively. Why did his human sigh? Was he dissatisfied with his answer?

“Makoto. I like you…like…lovers do…” he explained softly and he couldn’t suppress his rising embarrassment when he felt the rising warmth in his face.

The dogboy tilted his head to the other side. “Lovers?” 

When Makoto repeated the word, understanding dawned on him. His eyes became big, his face was completely red, flushed till his ears and neck and his mouth hang open. If this situation wasn’t this important Haru would have laughed by the sight. Trying to gather his whole feelings in this one gaze, he looked at the dogboy with his azure eyes, full of love, affection and hope. They looked at each other for some moments till Makoto was able to break out of his frozen state. Embarrassed he turned his gaze to the table, back to Haru and then to his lap. 

“I…I…I mean I…that…” he stammered while his eyes couldn’t focus on any specific point.

So he got it, thought Haru with a hint of triumph in his mind. But he still couldn’t tell if Makoto loved him back or if he was just…  
Eying the other nervously, Haru waited for his response.

Makoto was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t think straight. Haru loved him. HARU LOVED HIM screamed his mind while his heartbeat increased to an unhealthy rate. This was like…a dream…He loved Haru, that was obvious but he never dared to think about him…as a lover…because everybody told him that crossbreeds and humans didn’t match, that humans were far more important and had a higher standing than crossbreeds, that humans would only take other humans as their lover…

And now here he was sitting at the table across his beloved human who proposed to him…  
It was just too much for the poor dogboy…Everything was spinning and his heart felt like it would burst. Breathing unevenly, he tried to form a coherent thought but failed miserably. What could he answer? Was he enough for Haru? Didn’t Haru deserve someone better than him? He was a mere crossbreed without any reputation, Haru granted him value, Haru made him special…he couldn’t offer anything in return…

Then Makoto noticed an extended hand on the table beside him and when he looked at the owner in surprise, he closed his mouth instantly. 

It was Haru, and being with Haru felt just so right and Haru had made his forgotten dreams come true and maybe with Haru it was okay, maybe being in love with a human was okay…because Haru was different, Haru didn’t care if he was a crossbreed, in Haru’s eyes he was just Makoto. 

Closing his eyes for a few moments the dogboy tried to even his breathing. When he finally calmed a little bit down he hesitantly extended his own hand while his fingers trembled nervously. Slowly and shyly he touched Haru’s hand with his fingertips. He really really liked this feeling of warmth and being connected. When he finally laid his hand on the others the dogboy smiled shyly. For Haru he would try his best…

It was a soft smile, fragile and shy and so honest that Haru liked this one the best because it was so rare and matched Makoto so well that he would do everything so that nobody else was able to see it. 

Makoto finally gathered enough courage to look into azure eyes. In this moment he knew that they didn’t need words, that they understood each other even if he couldn’t repeat the words his human said to him. His smile became bigger and bigger till it seemed like his whole face was composed of it. He was just so happy that he had to stop himself from crying out of happiness.

Even Haru’s lips formed a small smile of his own while his cheeks were still colored in a soft pink. 

It was perfect.

The human tenderly caressed the other’s hand. It felt like a dream and all his thinking and his worries seemed so silly right now. If he had been more confident he would have spared himself from this trouble but it didn’t matter…not anymore…  
It was only the beginning for both of them. There were still a lot of struggles they had to deal with but in this moment nobody thought of it. The two were just so happy to feel the same that they didn’t notice the little calico kitten that climbed on the table and began to eat their leftovers. Only when a loud clang occurred looked both at the kitten in the middle of the table. Yoshi had already eaten quite an amount of the mackerel. While licking his mouth, he looked at the others with innocent eyes.

“Yoshi!” exclaimed Makoto scandalized. 

“Bad cat” said Haru sternly and frowned. He didn’t mind sharing his beloved mackerel but not like this, and not so much. He sliced the eroded piece of fish off and shoved it aside.

Meanwhile the brunette dogboy took the little calico kitten in his hands and placed him back on the floor. Haru already missed the feeling of Makoto’s hand. Nevertheless they still had to eat their remaining cold meal so he took his chopsticks and continued eating. It was hard to eat, especially if he had to suppress his smile or the thoughts about the last minutes.

When Makoto was finished with scolding Yoshi, he hastily shoved the rest of his meal into his mouth. Even with a mouth full of food he smiled and the smile on his face stayed for the rest of the evening.   
He was lying beside Haru on the soft mattress and while holding his human in his arms he still continued smiling. He wanted to hug the whole world, screaming out his happiness so everybody could feel this wonderful feeling too.

 

 

 

“Hey Sousuke, have you seen my black and red shirts? Somehow I can’t find them…” Rin scratched his head while thinking about other possible places.

The black haired dogboy only shrugged. “No, didn’t see them, maybe in the hamper?”

“Already checked and I already checked the locker room, too.” Rin replied worriedly.

“Maybe you left them in the living room or under your bed, who knows…”

“Hey! I’m not that messy, okay?!” said Rin scandalized.

Sousuke chuckled and answered calmly, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

Rin nodded and packed his bag. It was already time for his training and he was running late.

“Then I’m off, see you later!” shouted the redhead from the entrance and left.

Sousuke grunted as response while watching his human leave. When he finally heard the click of the lock, he sighed relieved. Peeking at his closed room door, he thought about his possibilities. Trotting back into his room, he walked over to his bed and opened the pillow case at the headboard. There, hidden behind the soft content where the two missing shirts. With mixed feelings he looked at the familiar clothing while running the fabric through his fingers. He had gotten used to this. It was nice and it really helped, like Makoto said but now he had to return the shirts…

Sighing again he took the two shirts in his hands and left his room. Walking into the bathroom he stood before the hamper while eying the shirts. He slowly put them down, obviously torn between keeping and deposing them. At the end he gently hid them under the rest of dirty clothes so it wouldn’t be too easy for Rin to find them later.   
For a few moments he eyed the hamper critically. Maybe he could take another cloth but he had already checked the content and there was nothing available, only his stuff and a few socks. 

“Shit…” cursed Sousuke while leaving the bathroom. He walked grumpily into the kitchen and took a can of soda out of the fridge. He could already feel the rising anxiety and the now familiar longing. With uneasily wagging tail, he paced around the room while sipping at his soda. 

This was bad and he knew it. He had to find something else when Rin would return home and depose his used clothes otherwise he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. 

It became routine for the black haired dogboy to sleep with his stolen clothes, sometimes in his arms and sometimes enveloped by them. He couldn’t really imagine how it was without it…

Looking at the phone beside the couch, he got an idea. There was one person who would understand him and who could maybe help him. Grabbing the phone and dialing the familiar number, he impatiently waited for a response.

“Hi Sousuke!” greeted Makoto cheerfully at the other end.

“Hello Makoto. I have a question” said Sousuke flatly.

“Oh okay. How are you? Is something wrong?”

“Not really. What do you do if you can’t get Haru’s clothes?” asked his friend with a hint of anxiety.

“Huh?” The brunette dogboy tilted his head in question and looked puzzled at the phone. “What do you mean?”

“What I already said. What do you do if you can’t get your human’s clothes?” repeated the other impatiently.

“Oh…well…actually I don’t really need it that much, only from time to time and right now I’m sleeping in Haru’s bed too so I didn’t need it…” replied Makoto thoughtfully.

Sousuke audibly sighed. 

“What's wrong?” asked his friend concerned. 

“Rin asked if I knew where his shirts were and I can’t fucking keep them if he is already looking for them.”

For a few seconds there was silence, then Makoto said softly, “Oh…I see…”

“Fuck” cursed Sousuke while scratching his head. He needed to find a solution for his dilemma. 

“Maybe you could…talk to Rin?” asked his friend shyly.

“Fuck no!” shouted Sousuke angrily. He would never NEVER let his human see this embarrassing side of him.

“Okay okay it was only a thought” pacified Makoto over the phone. 

There was silence for a few moments when the black haired dogboy sighed audibly. “Hey, I’m sorry, okay…” he apologized softly. He didn’t mean to shout at Makoto but this suggestion was just so…

“Mhm, I know” hummed his friend without a trace of anger. He knew that Sousuke didn’t mean it. “So…can you manage for a few days?”

“I don’t know”, replied Sousuke while hiding his face behind his hand. “Maybe, I don’t have another choice…”

“Mhm…If you…if you have any problems you can always talk to me and come over, okay?” 

When he heard Makoto’s soft voice his lips formed a small smile. Makoto was his best friend and he knew that he could always count on him. He was really lucky to be his friend.

“Thanks” mumbled Sousuke. “See you.”

“Bye Sousuke!”

Sousuke stood thoughtfully in the living room while looking at the floor. He had no other choice than to endure, trying to control himself and waiting for another opportunity. 

 

The next few days were ruff for the black haired dogboy. He had to wash the dirty clothes right away, his human had even less time for him than normal and even if he laid on the redhead’s bed during daytime it still wasn’t enough for him. He was itching to touch Rin or sniff at him but he knew how to control himself. The worst time was when his human tried to help him preparing their meal, when he was standing right beside him only a few inches away. It felt like torture, like seeing the most delicious meat right in front of your eyes but you weren’t allowed to eat it. 

Sousuke became more irritated and grumpy over time and Makoto noticed it with growing worry but his friend didn’t listen to him, especially if he proposed the idea of talking to Rin again. 

It was one early evening when Sousuke didn’t pay attention to the clock. He was lying on Rin’s bed, engrossed in cuddling with the pillows and blanket of the redhead. He didn’t hear the soft click of the entrance door or the soft sound of approaching footsteps. 

“Sousuke?”

Rin was now standing in the doorframe, eyeing the dogboy in confusion. In an instant Sousuke’s eyes snapped open and with a shocked expression he looked at his human. Trying to find an explanation he slowly left the bed while rubbing his head. With dropped ears he mumbled, “Seems like I mistook your room for mine.”

Lifting one of his eyebrows, Rin studied the dogboy critically. “Seriously? But your room is on the left side…”

“Eh…Seems like I was really tired…” And without another explanation Sousuke left the room before he could suppress his blush and embarrassment anymore. When he hurried into his room he slumped down. Cursing inside, he pulled on his hair in desperation. He didn’t want Rin to see this. What would he think? His explanation was so lame, there was no way that he would believe it. Shit. 

Anger filled the dogboy’s mind. He was so angry about himself. While clenching his fists tightly, he bit his lip till it almost tore. Fuck this. How should he look the other in the eye? What could he do to erase this incident? Ignore it? Maybe this was the best way…

When his anger subsided, he stood up and walked slowly over to his bed. Letting himself fall on the soft mattress, he hid his face between his arms. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want that his human thought badly of him and he didn’t want to shame him. He had tried really hard to kill this stupid bothersome feeling in his heart but it didn’t want to die, it rise up every time, like a little sprout after a heavy rain and then it ached, it ached so much. It was so much worse than all the beatings and wounds he had until now. Somehow, he would prefer it now, being beaten because these wounds would heal, even if the left a scar they would heal but this, this emotional pain hurt him on a whole different level. 

“Sousuke?” Rin’s soft voice echoed in Sousuke’s ears like a wake up call. He looked at the closed door with big eyes.

“Are you still sleepy?” asked his human gently.

God, his gentleness really hurt right now because it fed the aching in his heart, the impossible hope which wouldn’t die.

“Yeah kind of…” 

Sousuke forced himself to answer. It sounded drained and maybe drowsy if you couldn’t see the dogboy’s pained expression.

“Okay then sleep well, I’ll cook dinner and wake you up if it’s ready!” replied the redhead merrily. 

Sousuke heard the leaving footsteps and sighed. He had to control himself, he had to restrain himself…for Rin…so that nothing changed.

 

Rin noticed that something was up with his friend. Sousuke seemed more grumpy than usual and from time to time he would catch him looking at him. He didn’t really think that it was odd because the dogboy still needed to adjust to their move and their new surroundings. 

But after he saw him sleeping in his bed this one time, Sousuke became distant. He tried to evade his touch and always kept some distance between them. It was strange and Rin felt annoyed with each passing day. He tried to talk to the dogboy but Sousuke always answered that he was over thinking things. 

Of course Rin wasn’t satisfied with his answer but he reminded himself that he had to wait for Sousuke to talk to him because he learned this from their previous fight. He would be patient and understanding and adjust to Sousuke’s pace. Maybe he needed something new, leaving the flat, seeing Tokyo, maybe he needed some fresh air.

So Rin invited Sousuke to watch his practice one day. He had asked his coach in advance and luckily he didn’t deny his request. 

 

Now the black haired dogboy was sitting on the stands of the training pool with crossed arms. His teal eyes followed attentively Rin’s swimming figure because he didn’t want to miss even one second. His human swam so strong and perfect that he remembered their first swim together back in Iwatobi. With a soft smile he watched the redhead entering and leaving the pool while thinking about their time together. It was a sweet memory and he quite enjoyed it when he thought about it.

Suddenly Sousuke frowned and his eyes darkened. Rin was standing beside the pool talking merrily to some blonde tall guy. Both laughed while the other laid one of his arms around the redhead’s shoulders.   
Sousuke clenched his fists. How dared he to touch his human! And Rin, why wasn’t he angry?   
Jealousy filled Sousuke’s mind with each passing second. The two men came even closer to each other. The blonde rubbed Rin’s head while the other punched him lightly in the stomach. 

Gritting his teeth, Sousuke tried to calm down. It was nothing. They are teammates. Both guys. But he and Rin were guys too and he still felt that way. Closing his eyes tightly, he reminded himself that he was still a crossbreed, he was no match for other humans, letting aside that he was male and huge and bulky and…

Opening his eyes again, he watched a laughing Rin talking to Haru who seemed totally uninterested in the conversation. His heart ached but it was okay. It was really, because he had this one chance, this one lucky encounter at the animal shelter where he met Rin, and he wouldn’t destroy that, never. 

 

After practice Rin met Sousuke at the entrance and lead him to his locker room. There, standing in front of the door and waiting for them, stood the blonde guy who was so annoying friendly with his human. Sousuke frowned but stopped himself before he could glare at the other. 

“Hey Ian, I want you to meet my friend Sousuke!” exclaimed Rin merrily, not noticing the strained expression on the other guy’s face.

“Eh…hello…Sousuke…” replied Ian hesitantly while eying the dogboy critically from head to toe.

“Mhm. Hello.” The dogboy looked awkwardly to the other side.

Dragging Rin a few steps aside, Ian began to whisper hastily, “Dude I thought you meant a real friend, not your pet!”

Confused the redhead looked at the blonde. “Huh? But he is my friend.”

“Rin, he’s a crossbreed! They are our pets, not our friends!” Ian answered scandalized.

Of course Sousuke heard everything clearly. He couldn’t deny that these words stung. It hit a nerve he always tried to fight against, that he wasn’t ‘just’ a crossbreed, that he had feelings too, that he could also be a friend…

“What are you talking about?!” replied his human annoyed. “Are you really that retarded?”

“What?!” Ian stood before Rin with arms akimbo. “Are YOU retarded? Did you loose your mind?”

“Ian, fuck you”, and without another word the redhead turned around, grabbed Sousuke by his arm and dragged him away.

On their way home Rin was still cursing loudly. In contrast to his human’s anger the dogboy had to hide his happiness. Rin had defended him and he felt so awesome that he listened only halfheartedly to the other’s speech. It was only another reason why he loved his human so much. With dreamy eyes he looked out of the car window and hide his smile.

 

When both finally entered their home, Sousuke mumbled softly, “Thanks.”

Rin almost missed his word but with a big grin he faced the dogboy while rubbing his nose. “Of course big guy, you’re my friend!”

He fist bumped the other while Sousuke replied thoughtfully. “Yeah…”

“Come on, let’s celebrate!” shouted Rin enthusiastically and walked into the kitchen.

 

After a whole extra large pizza and a few beers on Rin’s side, both were sitting on the couch watching one of their favorite movies. Still holding one can in his hand, the redhead talked loudly about the scenes and story while Sousuke eyed him with a frown.

“You’re drunk” he stated calmly.

“I’m not!” replied Rin excessively scandalized. “As if I would get drunk because of a feeeew tiny little beers.” He held his can up and swung it from side to side.

“Yes, you are drunk” repeated the dogboy.

“Awwwwweeee come on Souuuuuuuu, don’t be so grumpy and let me have some fuuuuuuun!” whined Rin while still holding his can up.

“Hmpf” grunted the other.

Placing his can of beer on the coffee table, his human came a little bit closer and his playful attitude suddenly changed. Becoming serious, he asked, “And now tell my why you avoid me.”

Slightly shocked by the sudden change Sousuke looked into red glassy eyes. “Eh, I don’t.”

“Yes you do Sou-su-ke”, answered Rin while poking the other’s side with each syllable. 

The dogboy shivered. “No.”

“Come on, why won’t you tell me” whined his human and came even closer.

Sousuke could smell the familiar scent of Rin he had longed for the last days. Finally being able to enjoy it, he closed his eyes for a brief moment and his eyelids shuddered. Taking a shaky breath, he slipped a little bit farther away.

“See you’re now doing it again!” exclaimed Rin angrily and erased the left distance between them.

“Please Rin” whispered Sousuke helplessly. The temptation was just too much. Rin smelled so good, better than all the used shirts or pillows. He closed his eyes. Overwhelmed by the scent he desired so much the past days his nose wandered on its own to the other’s neck. He took a deep breath and sighed contently. It felt like he entered heaven.

“What are you doing?” asked Rin with droopy eyes while watching the dogboy’s blissful expression.

Sousuke didn’t listen. He was too engrossed in sniffing at his most important human without any reservations. He shuddered when a warm hand stroked his neck. With questions in his eyes he looked at the redhead. Rin was smiling serene with such a peaceful expression that the other blushed unwillingly. 

In this moment everything was just too much. His love was just too big, too deep for Rin, his desire too strong, his longing too painful. 

Slowly closing his eyes, he closed the remaining distance between the two of them and touched softly the other’s lips with his own. It wasn’t a real kiss, more like a brush against each others lips but for Sousuke it felt like a whole new world. 

He had seen kisses between humans, between crossbreeds, even between little children but he had never kissed someone before. So he didn’t really know how to do it properly. His only references were romantic scenes in movies or the one or other peek at lovers in public. 

Nevertheless he felt like his heart exploded. The electricity, the warmth, the happiness…

When he opened his eyes again, he saw big red gems studying him in shock. 

In this very moment he knew that he had crossed a line. He did what he had feared, he changed things between them and he could only pray that Rin would forget everything, that he would brush it away, pinning it on his drunkenness. 

“Sousuke…” whispered his human softly. 

Rin didn’t know what to think of it. Of course he was drunk and yes he flirted with Sousuke if he was honest but he had never thought that the other would kiss him. 

He knew that there was something between them, damned he already felt it in Iwatobi but he never considered following his impulse or growing feelings. He always thought that Sousuke liked him because he helped him, that they were best friends, bros…

But this one little incident changed everything. It wasn’t unpleasant, more like the complete opposite. He never felt this alive before and he was never this excited and happy after one tiny kiss, even if he included his previous girlfriends and the one or other flirt. Fuck he felt amazing. 

Well, he had to admit that it wasn’t a real kiss, at least not one he was used to but still…the impact was disastrous…  
And Sousuke looked just so handsome, with his shining teal eyes, his soft smile and his light blush…Nevertheless he was shocked. His feelings and mind were a chaotic mess. The only thing he was able to do was to whisper the other’s name in a breath.

Sousuke looked anxiously at his human while biting his lip. He couldn’t say that he regretted it because it felt so right, it was all he had dreamed of the previous nights… but…  
He had no other choice, he had to make things right.

Leaving the couch in a swift motion, he crossed the living room with a few steps and lingered at the doorframe. 

“Please forget it…” said the dogboy quietly without showing his face. He carefully chose these words and he was proud that his voice didn’t tremble even if his heart and mind was a mess.

After one last look over his shoulder he went into his room and closed the door. When he finally was alone his knees began to shake. With his last strength he walked over to his bed and slumped down. His whole body began to shiver uncontrollably. Hiding his face behind his two hands, his eyes began to water. What had he done?

 

 

 

 

Nagisa liked Rei. It was a matter of fact and he wanted to shower Rei in his love and affection. He knew that the blue haired dogboy wasn’t used to body contact but he believed that he would get used to it. So he tried to convey his feelings as clearly as possible, like hugging the other, cuddling with him or kissing him on the cheek but over time the human noticed that Rei never returned his actions in some way. He would accept it, bear it but there was no real response like saying something nice to him or hugging him back. 

On the outside Nagisa didn’t show any sights of waver or insecurity but inside he was intensely cerebrating. He even said directly that he liked the dogboy a few times but when he waited for his answer there was none, only embarrassing splutter and bright red cheeks. Maybe he needed to be more direct, asking him openly if he liked him. On the other side what would he do if Rei told him that he didn’t like him the way he did? That would be terrible, it would break his heart, leaving him broken and empty and…

Shaking his mop of blonde hair, he tried to forget these terrible thoughts.

Maybe it was time to ask for help, thought Nagisa and forged a plan. He made sure that the dogboy was already sleeping, he closed his door firmly and checked the battery of his cell phone. Fully charged, good. Then while pacing up and down he dialed the familiar number of his childhood friend and waited patiently. After almost a whole minute of ringing he heard an annoyed snort on the other end.

“Hello Haru-chan! I need your advice!” said Nagisa rapidly while muffling his voice with his hand.

The other sighed. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you alone right now?” asked the blonde with a hint of nervousness.

“…No?” Haru looked at Makoto who was sitting at the couch playing with Yoshi.

“Is Mako-chan with you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, okay. That will do. I have a serious problem right now”, Nagisa took a deep breath, “I don’t know how I can make Rei-chan understand that I love him. I mean like really lovey-dovey loving with butterflies and seeing stars and feeling th-.”

“Nagisa” interrupted Haru his friend calmly. “Did you tell him?”

“If it was that easy I would have already done it and we would be already a couple! I hugged him, I confessed my feelings, I even kissed him but he doesn’t understand!” exclaimed Nagisa desperately. 

For a few moments silence filled the line while Haru was thinking.

“Maybe you weren’t clear enough?” His friend tried again.

“Oh silly Haru-chan, I said, let me quote, ‘Rei-chan I really like you’. And that was not only one time I have already said it like 10 times, but he never gives me a response no matter how long I wait or how long I look at him with puppy eyes.”

Haru looked thoughtfully at the dogboy beside him while he tried to find the right words.

“…Maybe he doesn’t want to understand?”

“…” Nagisa’s eyes became big. For once he didn’t know what he could answer. Why would Rei-chan refuse to understand?

“Maybe he doesn’t know how he feels. Maybe you pressure him too much with your affectionate behavior,” added his friend after a moment.

With a blank gaze, the blonde looked at his closed door. Did he…really pressure him to much? Did he bother Rei-chan with his display of affection? He wasn’t sure anymore, everything was a blur when his eyes began to water.

“You think so?” he asked with a tiny voice.

“Sometimes you can be really…overwhelming…but if you want to know for sure you have to ask Rei. You are closer to him than I am.”

Nagisa swallowed. It was true that he was sometimes pushy and that some were annoyed because of it but was Rei-chan the same? He had believed that he was different, that he would accept him the way he was without pretending, without disguising but now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He always thought that the dogboy was okay with it but Haru-chan’s words echoed in his mind.

Taking a shaky breath he regained his composure and replied softly, “Ah…maybe you’re right Haru-chan…So I should refrain myself for a while?”

“Mhm. He needs to think about his feelings for you otherwise you won’t get your answer.”

Nagisa nodded once.

“Okay, thank you Haru-chan”, said the blonde earnestly and bid his goodbye. Blinking the wetness around his eyes away, he ended the call and looked at the display for a moment.

When he dropped his phone on the bed, he slumped down. Most of the time Haru-chan gave him good advices and this time was no exception. When he was being honest he could be rather overwhelming, he had to admit that. But he was surprised that he didn’t notice it till now because he was just so happy to be together wit Rei-chan and to live with him and to spend time with him and…

Ah…

He loved Rei-chan so much that he had to try his best even if it meant to change himself for him. He wanted to be together with Rei-chan, having fun with him, growing old with him, even if his skin would be wrinkled and his hair would be white he wanted stay together with him, forever.   
While thinking about the things he could change about himself he tried to ignore the gnawing fear in his heart.

 

The next couple of days Nagisa’s behavior changed successfully. He was still as cheerful as ever and teased Rei like always but he didn’t touch him anymore and he never used words which had something to do with his ‘like’ or ‘love’ for the other. 

It was hard, pretty damned hard but Nagisa held himself together because he did it for Rei-chan therefore he endured the longing and loss of affection. He wouldn’t pressure him. He would be a good nice friend, letting the other decide on his own, giving him the time he needed.

Of course the blue haired dogboy noticed the change right away because it was rather obvious. Nevertheless he didn’t say anything even though he was confused why his human stopped his touchy behavior. It was somehow weird he had to admit; nonetheless he welcomed it with open arms. Now he didn’t need to fear uncomfortable embarrassment, irregular heart beating or awkward situations in which he was speechless and unable to tear his eyes of the blonde.

But after almost a week Rei began to nibble nervously off his fingernails. Nagisa was still acting like nothing was wrong and the touchy behavior didn’t return. It was rather embarrassing but Rei missed it, these simple touches or little actions of affection. Now without it he felt hollow, like being thirsty without water in reach. He knew that his mind was illogical, that there was something wrong with him but he didn’t know what it was. Trying to figure it out on his own, he spent the upcoming nights with cerebrating, searching for any possible cause or explanation but in the end he didn’t find an answer for his question or his illogical feeling. 

After one of these sleepless nights he remembered Makoto-senpai’s words from their last meeting. With a little hesitance at the beginning he grabbed the phone in the living room when Nagisa was at work and dialed the known number.

After a few rings a cheerful voice greeted him.

“Hello?” asked the brunette dogboy merrily from the other end.

“Hello Makoto-senpai. It’s nice to hear you. I hope I don’t impose on you” replied Rei politely while bowing. Of course Makoto couldn’t see it but this action was so automatically that he couldn’t stop himself.

“Oh no no, it’s all right Rei. How are you?” His friend waved his hand in a dismissing manner.

“Eh well I’m okay…I guess” answered Rei hesitantly. He was okay, somehow…He wasn’t hurt, he ate, and he slept sometimes…if he excluded the nagging feeling in his mind he was okay.

Makoto heard the little hesitance in Rei’s answer. “What’s wrong Rei? Is something bothering you?”

“Actually that’s the reason why I’m calling Makoto-senpai. I need your advice.” The blue haired dogboy looked at the closed door while thinking about the last week.

“Advice?” Surprised by the unexpected answer, Makoto’s tail wagged slowly from side to side.

“Yes. Nagisa-kun’s behavior changed” said Rei seriously.

The other’s ears twitched. “How?”

“Eh well… how should I put it…” He touched thoughtfully his chin while trying to find the right words.

“Is Nagisa sad?” asked Makoto worriedly.

“No, he is bright and cheerful” replied Rei irritated. For a few seconds there was silence on the other end.

“Does he ignore you?” asked his friend hesitantly. It was one of the worst experiences for Makoto and he hoped that Rei would never experience something like this.

“No he still pays attention to me.”

A relieved sigh left Makoto’s lips. He had held his breath without noticing. But if Nagisa was the same as always, then where was the problem? Confused he asked, “Then what it wrong with him?”

Rei bit his lip. After a few moments he mumbled, “He doesn’t touch me anymore.”

“Huh?” The other looked confused at his phone. Did he hear it right?

“Since 10 days and 12 hours Nagisa-kun hasn’t touched me once” announced the blue haired dogboy sorrowfully. 

“Not even like…poking you?”

“No.”

Makoto was speechless. He would have never thought that Nagisa would stop his touchy behavior. It was like…Haru would stop eating mackerel every day and THAT was a terrifying thought. Now he knew why Rei was full of worry and insecurity. Trying to find out the severity, he thought about a situation where both would touch each other without noticing. 

“And when you wash the dishes?” asked Makoto expectantly. 

“We touched the plate on different sides” answered Rei with a frown. Somehow he felt even more irritated by pointing it out.

“Oh…that sounds really…not Nagisa like…”

“Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” shouted the helpless dogboy scandalized. 

Makoto tilted his head while cerebrating. There had to be a reason. Nagisa wouldn’t do this because of a mere change of mood. “And you don’t know the reason why he stopped touching you?”

“No! I tried to find an answer the last nights but I couldn’t. That’s the reason why I called you Makoto-senpai. Maybe you can help me. Maybe you experienced something similar.”

“Oh Rei…” Makoto looked at the floor while memories flashed before his eyes. He experienced a lot, that was right but it was the complete opposite, more like the humans touched him too much or ignored him completely. Sitting on the couch, he closed his eyes for a moment.

I don’t know…I mean you know Nagisa the best, don’t you?” he replied thoughtfully.

“Ah…” Makoto-senpai had a point, he was the closest one. His mood became a little bit brighter by this thought. 

“Maybe you could try talking to him? Ask him directly what’s wrong. I mean, it’s Nagisa, you can talk to him. He’s a nice human”, continued his friend.

“Yes. You’re right Makoto-senpai. It’s rather simple but effective. Thank you for your wise advice!” replied the blue haired dogboy gratefully. Finally he had a plan to carry out. Finally he knew what to do. 

“Ah no problem Rei. I’m happy I could help you” said Makoto and scratched his neck in embarrassment. 

“I wish you a good day and good bye Makoto-senpai!”

“Bye Rei, good luck!”

And then the line was dead. Tightening the grip around the phone, Rei looked at the display with determined eyes. He would face his human tonight and find his answer and then this nagging feeling would vanish. It was time for Rei the negotiator.


	18. First Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Finally I was able to finish this chapter (;´Д`) Sorry for taking so long but life is quite busy right now ~  
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter and have fun while reading it ( ﾉ^ω^)ﾉﾟ  
> Thank you for all the nice and wonderful comments, it always makes me happy to see that you like this story and keep reading it *(*´∀｀*)☆  
> If you have any questions, suggestions or want to tell me your thoughts I'll gladly reply and look forward to it.  
> Again please enjoy the chapter and see you next time (≧∇≦)/

Makoto was walking on cloud nine. He experienced the next morning like he was still dreaming. When he waved his goodbye at the entrance of the flat, he was still smiling goofily. Not till Haru was out of his eyes did he register that now he was alone again, well not completely. Yoshi rubbed against his leg while purring loudly. Patting the small head gently the dogboy couldn’t suppress his happy grin. Haru loved him…and he loved Haru…and now they were ‘lovers’. Makoto squeaked when he thought about this one word. Lovers…

Yes, he felt like everything was a dream but at the breakfast table Haru was smiling so shyly at him while holding his hand…he had pinched his upper leg just to make sure and the skin still stung but…This wasn’t a dream.   
Grinning broadly he took the calico kitten in his arms and walked into the living room.

He had to tell someone. He had to tell someone how lucky he was and how happy he felt and…

Trotting to the phone he dialed the familiar number of his neighbors. His tail impatiently hit the couch while he anxiously waited for a response. After 2 whole minutes he stopped ringing. With worried eyes he looked at the display and frowned. Normally Sousuke would pick up right away…

Strange…

Tilting his head to the other side, he thought about possible explanations. Maybe he was still sleeping? But last time sleep didn’t stop him to pick up…  
Maybe he was busy? But he knew that Sousuke wasn’t doing anything in the morning. Most of the time he would laze around or he would visit Makoto or clean the flat so his human wouldn’t complain but he would still pick up the phone…  
Maybe he was sick? But then Rin would have told him, or Haru at least…  
Maybe he was hurt?  
Maybe he was in danger?!

With growing worry Makoto walked up and down, imagining one bad scenario after another. He had to check on him. Now. Because he could never forgive himself if his friend was in trouble and he ignored it therefore he placed Yoshi carefully on the couch, left the flat with the key around his neck and knocked on the other’s door. 

There was still silence…Anxiously looking around he knocked a little bit harder. 

Still no answer.

The brunette dogboy dropped his ears and looked at the floor. Maybe he was not at home? Maybe Rin took him with him?

Disappointed he turned around when he heard a soft creak from his back. Looking over his shoulder with big eyes he noticed that the door had been opened just a tiny little slit. This wasn’t before… He tried to find out who opened the door but the only thing he could see was a dark shadow. With uneasy wagging tail and almost reluctantly he turned around and slowly opened the door a little bit more. When he peeked inside there was nobody there. No Sousuke, no Rin, only the empty entrance. Strange…  
He went inside and quietly closed the door. He doffed his shoes and cautiously walked into the living room trying to find any hints of Sousuke but the living room was empty too. Tilting his head to the other side he listened closely to the sounds. 

Silence. 

Irritated he walked the known way to his friend’s room and knocked softly on the closed door. 

“Sousuke, are you there?” He asked worriedly. He couldn’t quite stop himself when his hand was already at the door knob and slowly opened the last barrier. Makoto’s happiness was instantly dispelled by the first peek inside. Sousuke’s room was still dark, the curtains fending off every little ray of the morning sun. The black haired dogboy was curled up in the middle of his bed while his bed sheets covered his whole body completely. Even if Makoto couldn’t see his friend, he knew instantly that something was terribly wrong. He carefully and slowly took a few steps closer and whispered,

“Sousuke? Are you sick?”

The soft rustling of the sheets gave Makoto his answer. He sat down at the other end of the bed and with eyes full of worry and concern looked at the lump beside him. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked gently but firmly.

It felt like the longest moments of his day when he waited for his friend’s response. 

“I destroyed everything” uttered a cracked broken voice. 

Makoto swallowed hard. Sousuke’s voice sounded so utterly miserable that he had to hold himself back from simply hugging his best friend here and now.

“Sousuke…” He said in his sweetest voice, “Won’t you talk to me? Face to face?” Coming a little bit closer, he laid his hand softly on the lump of sheets waiting for his friend to come out. 

Sousuke shivered. He felt Makoto’s warm hand on his back and it took everything he had to hold himself back from breaking down. He felt so miserable that this little action could drive him over the edge. Biting his lips till they finally torn after being abused the whole night, he slowly shook his body. He didn’t want to face anyone right now.

“Okay, I understand…but tell me what happened, I’m really worried about you” answered Makoto softly. It was the first time that he saw Sousuke like this and he knew that his pride was holding himself back from opening up completely. So he accepted it, knowing that sometimes it would be easier to tell sad things without seeing the other. Internally he hoped so much that it wasn’t THAT bad, that Sousuke was maybe exaggerating things but deep inside he knew that he wouldn’t react like that if it wasn’t serious.

He softly patted the big lump beside him, encouraging his friend to speak when he was ready.

Sousuke took a deep breath. Makoto was his best friend but it was still so difficult to talk about the other night. It would make the situation painfully real and he tried to evade it at all costs. Still, this morning reminded him of his worst mistake because it was the first morning without Rin. No breakfast, no good bye, no jokes, no red eyes. Nothing but darkness and misery. He faintly heard the shut of the door when his human left the flat without talking to him once since the other night. The additional sting in his heart after hearing the click increased his desolate state. He thought that maybe Rin would come to him and tell him that everything was right, that he forgot it, that he couldn’t remember and that he should move his ass to the breakfast table. But there was nothing like that and it meant that Rin remembered and…that Rin didn’t want to see him…  
Yes, it hurt and Sousuke thought hard about ways of reliving his pain because his broken heart was just unbearable. Over night he couldn’t decide if he should bite himself or sneak outside and grab some sharper things but he knew that it was wrong, that it wouldn’t relieve the pain…still the expectation of punishing himself felt deliciously good. Instead of moving one inch, he thought about how he would punish himself for what he had done.

“Sousuke?”

Makoto’s voice reminded him that he wasn’t alone anymore. His friend was sitting beside him, waiting for an explanation, for any response he could give.

Clearing his throat he closed his eyes tightly while saying in his cracked voice, “I…”

Sousuke swallowed audibly. “I…I made a mistake…Last night...Rin and I were sitting on the couch watching movies. He was drunk I guess…he…he came closer and closer and he smelled just so good…and it was too long…I…I kissed him Makoto… I kissed him and I was so happy and in the next moment I was so sad when I saw his shocked eyes on me…I made the worst mistake I could make…He hates me now…I told him that he should forget it but it didn’t work…He ignored me this morning…I don’t know what to do…what if…he…I couldn’t…”

A soft sob escaped Sousuke’s lips and he shut himself up. No, he couldn’t live without his human anymore. If Rin would ignore him for the rest of his life it was okay because he destroyed their relationship but if Rin would give him back, would discard him…this he couldn’t take it…he would…

“Sousuke…I’m so sorry…” mumbled Makoto while tears were running down his cheeks. He could feel Sousuke’s pain in his words, from his shivering body. He sniffed a few times and rubbed his eyes. He wished so much that Sousuke would be happy too and he felt so ashamed of himself that he came to him with the intention to tell him about his happiness. How could he feel happy like the luckiest person in the world when his friend was so miserable that he couldn’t even leave his room?

“I’m so sorry Sousuke…I wish I could do something for you…” He stroked gently the soft lump while silent tears were dropping on his lap. 

“Should I…talk to Rin for you?” proposed Makoto unsurely.

Sousuke shivered when he heard his human’s name. “No…you don’t have to…I’ll take the consequences of my actions…”

Makoto nodded and sniffed once more. “Should I keep you company or would you like to be alone? Shall I make you tea? Do you need something?”

“It’s fine Makoto…Just sit here with me…” mumbled the black haired dogboy and shuffled a little bit closer to his friend.

There was a time when he wished for nothing more than being alone but now Makoto’s presence somehow eased the pain…Yeah he became soft…too soft… 

 

“MATSUOKA! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TODAY?!” shouted his coach from the other side of the pool. 

Rin was breathing heavily while taking his swim cap and goggles off. Looking at the clear water he ignored the angrily shouting man.  
With a blank expression he left the pool and sat down beside Haru on the bench. Rubbing his head with one of his towels he noticed worried azure eyes on him.

The redhead sighed. “I’m just having a bad day.”

“You never have a bad day” replied Haru instantly and stared at him further on.

Sighing again, Rin leaned back and laid his arms on the backside of the bench. He needed a few moments to summarize the whole evening in a few words and to calm the raging storm in his heart.

“Sousuke kissed me” he announced with a hint of anxiety. It was something else to say it out loud. 

 

Since last evening his mind was a blur. He didn’t sleep and only when the alarm clock rang was he reminded that there was still something like training he had to go to. He didn’t know how to face the dogboy and the torturing headaches didn’t make it easier. Thanks to a sleepless night and the approaching hangover he felt like being hit by a truck. How could he approach Sousuke? What could he say to him? Pretend that nothing happened? Blaming his drunkenness? Asking him directly why he kissed him? 

Rin didn’t know what to do so he slowly left his room while checking the hallway for any sights of the black haired dogboy. As expected everything was still the same as last night and within a hurry he changed himself, grabbed some energy bars and left. He had a guilty conscience but he wasn’t prepared for an awkward conversation especially when he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

Of course the upcoming training was especially hard on him. The lack of sleep, the headaches and his confused mind lead to terrible training times and his coach was on the verge of hyperventilating.

 

Closing his eyes for a moment he waited for Haru’s response. He expected some kind of surprised huff or snort but there was only silence. Peeking at the black haired man beside him, he saw slightly upturned lips.

“What the fuck are you smiling?! Is it that funny?!” exclaimed Rin irritated.

“I’m happy for you” replied Haru with a hint of affection. 

Rin blinked a few times, he couldn’t believe his ears. “Happy?”

Lifting one of his eyebrows Haru looked at his friend in question. “Yes. Aren’t you happy?”

The redhead spluttered. “This is your answer? No question why he kissed me? No surprise moment?”

Haru shrugged. It was obvious that Sousuke liked Rin so why should he be surprised?

“Dude…” Rin shook his head. “You’re really no help. So tell me, why do you think I’m happy about this? And don’t you dare to answer with a question again!”

His friend sighed. “Sousuke likes you and you like Sousuke. It was only a matter of time till you two would get together.”

Again Rin spluttered and looked dumbfounded at the other with big red eyes. “W-What?! I l-l-like Sousuke?! No way!” he replied with flushed cheeks and crossed arms. 

He liked him but not this way…he guessed? Turning his face away he became even more embarrassed when he imagined himself with the black haired dogboy doing couple things like going on a date, sharing food, holding hands…

Okay his heart was really beating fast and he couldn’t deny the little ache but…it was only a crush, nothing more and Sousuke was a dogboy and he was a guy and…

Haru observed his friend with a frown. So Rin wasn’t happy? Did he…reject Sousuke? Rin could be pretty dumb but…

With a sigh he faced the redhead again and advised with a serious tone “Don’t make the same mistake.”

Surprised the other eyed his friend again. “Huh?!”

“So if you aren’t together, what did you do?” asked Haru flatly.

“Huh?” The redhead blinked a few times still unable to answer.

“After he kissed you” he added as explanation.

Rin looked at his lap and stuttered, “Eh…I…was surprised and I didn’t say anything. Then he told me to forget it and went into his room and this morning I didn’t see him.”

Haru could vividly see the scene before his eyes. “Mhm. You have to talk about it. Make up.”

With a frown he faced his friend again and exclaimed angrily, “Are you my matchmaker or what?! How would you know what I’m feeling right now. Everything is a mess and I don’t know what to do!” 

Haru sighed. “Be honest with him, and don’t escape.”

“Tch. As if I would try to run away” snapped the other back and turned away.

His friend remained silent. 

“I won’t run away” mumbled Rin while facing the other side. He had to clear things up even if he didn’t know how. 

Both men remained silent for the rest of their break. Haru watched his swimming teammates while thinking about his friends. Hopefully Rin would be brave enough to face Sousuke wholeheartedly and maybe then both would be as happy as he and Makoto. When his mind was filled with the brunette dogboy, a soft smile escaped his lips, unnoticed by his friend and teammates. Peeking at the redhead beside him, he knew that somehow Rin would manage, he always did. When he was confronted with new situations or new challenges he would overcome it and even if Rin denied it, Haru could clearly see that the black haired dogboy meant a lot to his friend. He knew that it was a different kind of like and that he shouldn’t compare his and Sousuke’s position in Rin’s heart. So he simply didn’t because he valued Rin’s happiness. Makoto on the other hand was another case. He wouldn’t share him, never and the hint of jealousy he felt every time when the two dogboys were laughing together was irritating him. Nevertheless it didn’t vanish over time, it was more like he accepted it and ignored it to some extent, for Makoto’s sake. 

Rin was glad that Haru was a man of few words. At least he wouldn’t pester him about this whole mess. Now he had time to think about his feelings and his possible answer. Of course he liked Sousuke, man he was one of his closest friends, his bro…  
And he should be disgusted by the kiss last night, but he wasn’t and that confused him even more. The dogboy was clearly a guy, through and through, muscles, manly appearances, not one of these feminine types and a crossbreed to boot, not that Rin would mind…Nevertheless he wasn’t mad at him or disappointed…

He was straight, he liked women, their softness, their long hair, their cuteness, their breasts…  
So why was he thinking so fucking much about Sousuke and his soft teal eyes and his ripped muscles and the soft touch of his lips…he knew he had a crush but crushes would disappear and he would never risk their friendship because of something like this. Nevertheless he was afraid to loose the dogboy. What if he couldn’t return his feelings and would hurt him, would Sousuke leave again like last time? Would he stay by his side even if they were mere friends? Alone the thought of him being alone again let his heart sting. Thoughtfully touching the bare skin over his heart he looked at the pool with a frown. How should he answer Sousuke honestly if he didn’t even know his own feelings?

 

It was only right before Rin would return when Makoto left Sousuke alone again. His friend kept him company the whole day and talked with him about stupid stuff or mothered him even more than usual. After Sousuke reassured the other several times that he was alright and that he wanted to talk to Rin alone, he scratched himself behind his ears while he walked up and down in the living room. Should he apologize? Begging Rin for not throwing him out? Deny the whole incident? Should he even start the topic or wait for his human to make the first step? He couldn’t make a decision and it irritated him because it was not his usual self. Normally he would know what to do, his instincts were always right but now they stayed silent. Hearing the familiar sound of keys in a locket, he instantly turned around and began to panic. He was still unsure, he still didn’t know what to do…But he wouldn’t let his human wait so he slowly walked over to the entrance to see Rin for the first time of the day while desperately trying to keep his tail in place.

When Rin opened the front door completely exhausted he was greeted by two dull teal eyes. Sousuke looked at him with a defeated expression. It didn’t suit him, thought the redhead to himself and closed the door. Rubbing the back of his head he mumbled, “I guess we have to talk.”

The dogboy grunted as response and went into the living room, followed by his human. Sousuke slumped down on one of the armchairs, clearly keeping his distance. Rin sat down on the familiar couch and eyed the dogboy nervously. He noticed that the other wasn’t looking at him. He focused his gaze on his lap where his hands were folded and lightly trembling. When Rin let his eyes wander he saw the deep frown on Sousuke’s forehead, his swollen eyes and the hanging corners of his mouth. Did the dogboy cry? Rin couldn’t believe that Sousuke would be somebody who would cry, more like he was always the strong one, level headed, calm and unmovable…  
Somehow his regret and guilt only increased when he saw how defeated Sousuke looked…

Rin swallowed audibly. It seemed like the other was waiting for him to start but how should he begin? 

 

When Haru returned home he found his beloved dogboy in the living room, nervously pacing up and down while Yoshi followed him lazily with his eyes. 

“Makoto.”

Within an instant Makoto stopped in his tracks and turned around. “Ah sorry Haru welcome back!” He greeted the other with a small smile and walked over to his human, his tail wagging merrily.

Haru noticed his swollen red eyes and his messy hair. Gently touching the other’s cheek, he asked concerned, “What’s wrong?”

For a moment Makoto’s eyes became slightly bigger, then he smiled broadly, “Nothing Haru.” 

His human huffed irritated. Of course something is wrong, said his eyes when their gazes met.

The dogboy’s smile was replaced with a worried expression. “It’s about Sousuke…”

And that was everything Haru needed to hear. He knew what Makoto was talking about.

“Mhm” he replied softly and patted Makoto’s head. “They will be fine.”

Makoto’s lips quivered for a moment, he was torn between his worry for his friend and his delight because of Haru’s touch.

“I’m still worried about him. I never saw Sousuke like this.” His eyes began to water again when he remembered this morning.

The human studied the other with a slight frown. He knew that Makoto was empathetic and that he needed to distract the dogboy, otherwise he would be worried and sad the whole evening about something he couldn’t solve.

“Makoto.” 

Haru took the dogboy’s hand and lead him to the cupboards. He let him go while rummaging through one of the drawers. Finding the thing he was looking for, he hid it behind his back and said seriously, “Close your eyes.”

The brunette dogboy blinked a few times in surprise but closed his eyes obediently. Then Haru held a little box up and announced, “Now you can look.”

And Makoto looked curiously at the little box. Tilting his head from one side to the other, he took the little package and carefully opened it. Then he gaped. With wildly wagging tail he extracted the small yellow ball and turned it around in his hand.

“I thought you might like it” mumbled Haru with a light blush on his cheeks. 

“Haru! Haru! I love it!” replied Makoto excitedly while digging his nails into the soft fabric.

His human opened his hand and expectantly looked at him. The dogboy needed a few minutes till he understood the request.

He reluctantly placed the ball in the other’s palm while fixating it with his eyes. Haru tightened his grip while checking the living room. Finding an empty place, he threw it into a corner and watched the excited dogboy who immediately jumped after the yellow ball. When he caught it he bit joyfully down. Chewing on the soft fabric he wagged happily with his tail and bounced up and down. Finally when he laid his eyes on his human he let the ball fall into his hand and rubbed the back of his head with the other in embarrassment.

“Sorry I got carried way.”

“It’s fine” replied Haru amused. He was pleased with his choice and the change of Makoto’s mood. He wanted to see the dogboy happy. It was natural that he would worry about his friend but this was something between Sousuke and Rin and Makoto and he could only support them in their choice. Hopefully Rin had made up his mind…

 

“Why did you kiss me?” asked Rin without beating around the bush.

Sousuke swallowed audibly. So Rin DID remember after all, now it was official. But what could he answer? Being honest or lying? Weighting his option in his mind, Sousuke looked at his lap with a frown.

The redhead eyed him attentively trying to find any hint that could help him to figure this mess out. Waiting patiently, he crossed his legs without taking his eyes off the dogboy.

Sousuke could feel the familiar red eyes on him and sweat began to run down his spine. 

“Can…we just drop this?” said the black haired dogboy finally.

Rin frowned. “No. Tell me the reason. Were you fooling around?”

“NO!” exclaimed the other scandalized while standing up. Noticing his mistake, he sat down again and glued his eyes on his lap. “I mean I wouldn’t do that.”

“Then tell me what’s really on your mind.” His human’s voice filled with expectation and a hint of hurt.   
Sousuke closed his eyes and sighed. There was no way out. Rin wouldn’t drop it and he didn’t want to lie to him, they had promised each other to be honest…

Collecting his whole courage, he looked into Rin’s eyes without wavering and said earnestly, “I like you Rin. You mean a lot to me.” So much you could never guess.

Rin saw honesty and affection in the dogboy’s teal eyes and he knew that Sousuke meant it. Still…what did he feel?

Turning his gaze away Sousuke clenched his fists while eying the floor. “I’m sorry. I really tried to erase this feeling, but it wouldn’t disappear…” he said helplessly.   
“If you want to ignore me, I’m fine with it but…I want to stay by your side. Don’t return me” he continued pleadingly. It was the first time that he would plead for something and he felt so weak and unfamiliar in his own skin that he pressed his lips to a tight line. How could Rin make him strong and weak at the same time?

“I would never ignore you or give you back!” shouted Rin angrily back. Standing up, he grabbed Sousuke by his shirt and tightened his grip. Looking right into the other’s eyes he continued, “Do you think you mean so little to me?! You’re my best friend! And it wouldn’t be the same without you!”

Shocked by the sudden action Sousuke looked at his human with big eyes. When he heard the other’s exclamation he gaped. Warmth was filling his insides. Rin valued him. Rin wouldn’t leave him. It was the only thing that mattered to him at that moment. 

The redhead loosed his grip on the shirt till he let his hands fall completely to his side. “I don’t know how I feel about you…If I feel more than friendship…but I will think about it and figure it out, okay?” 

With a blush on his cheeks he looked from the dogboy to the side and back. Seeing the other’s gentle smile he felt how his blush increased. Sousuke looked so handsome and gentle and cute and…  
Turning his face away he punched the other lightly on his shoulder. “And now come on, I’m hungry” mumbled Rin and walked towards the kitchen. 

Sousuke looked after him with a goofy grin. He had a chance. He really seriously had a chance and it made his heart flutter. He would make him fall in love with him and then he would have only eyes for him and nobody else. With a broad smile he stood up and adjusted his shirt. Following his human, he hit every possible piece of furniture with his wagging tail on the way but he didn’t care. Hope filled his teal eyes with a light Rin would notice later on.

In the end the two of them called their usual pizza delivery service. With a full stomach and fluttering heart Sousuke went to bed while dreaming of ways to make his human fall in love with him.

 

Rei looked at the clock and checked the time. Only 2 minutes left till Nagisa-kun would return home. Then he would confront him and get his answers. He adjusted his glasses like usual and opened his first button of his shirt. He was ready.

Nagisa came home with a bag full of groceries in his hand. He wanted to surprise Rei with a special treat. It wasn’t cheating in his eyes it was only a gift of friendship. He didn’t try to bribe him no no…Well maybe a bit but the ‘no touch’ rule didn’t include ‘no gifts’ so it was unofficially officially all right. 

Still having enough energy after a full day of work, Nagisa opened the door in his usual manner, almost throwing it against the wall.  
When he looked around with a grin on his face he saw Rei standing right before the entrance with crossed arms.

“Ah Rei-chan! Hello! I bought some ingredients and snacks for today!” He announced cheerfully while holding the bag up and shaking it from side to side.

The blue haired dogboy adjusted his glasses and looked sternly at the blonde. “Nagisa-kun, we have to talk” he replied flatly. For a moment his human’s eyes became big. Then he returned to his usual cheerful manner and answered, “Okay, but don’t worry, I’m not going to eat sweets as dinner!”

Without another reply Rei turned around and walked into the living room. Nagisa followed him with a hint of nervousness. Maybe he thought too much of it, maybe Rei-chan wanted to speak about his working hours, or how he used his money or something like this. With a strained smile on his face he sat down on the couch and waited patiently till the dogboy began to speak.

Adjusting his glasses Rei eyed his human seriously. “Nagisa-kun, tell me why you act differently than usual.”

For a moment the blonde gaped, then he regained his composure and replied merrily, “Rei-chaaaan I don’t know what you mean. Are you worried that I didn’t eat sweets the last few days?” Nagisa laughed awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head.

“No. I mean that you became distant the last 10 days and 15 hours.” Rei’s eyes pierced through Nagisa’s obvious fake laugh and made him silent. 

“I don’t know what you mean” mumbled the blonde while looking at his lap. He wanted to keep quiet as planned. He wanted to give the other more time because it didn’t seem like Rei had any clue about the real reason. 

“Nagisa-kun. You didn’t touch me the past 10 days and 15 hours. Not even once. I want to know the reason for that. If I did anything to offend you I will gladly apologize and work on my behavior. And…” Rei took a deep breath, “If you changed your mind about my stay with you I will return to my creators.”

“NO! That’s not it!” shouted Nagisa desperately while standing up. He couldn’t understand how the dogboy came to this conclusion. Why did Rei-chan think about something like this? Did he make him feel insecure? Did he drive him against a wall? Was he acting selfish without knowing it?

Shaking his head he looked at the dogboy with watering eyes. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want Rei-chan to leave him, or that he was thinking that he didn’t care about him anymore. It was quite the opposite. 

Clenching his fists, he knew that he had to tell the truth otherwise he would loose his most beloved. So he closed his eyes to strengthen his resolve. Somehow today was more difficult than the other times…Maybe because Rei-chan was looking at him with earnest eyes or maybe because he had restrained himself for the past days. Opening his eyes again, he looked at the dogboy with gentle and affectionate eyes.

“I like you Rei-chan. I really…really like you. And because I like you so much I thought that you needed some time for yourself. Without me. Without pressuring you. I’m sorry for making you feel this way.”

Biting his lip, the blonde turned his eyes away. He could clearly see the surprise on the other’s face. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He needed to know it, now. Of course he feared rejection and disgust but he had nothing to loose now, he had already overstepped the border…

“Do you like me?” asked Nagisa hopefully, trying to erase the growing desperation in his heart. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it, he lectured himself over and over again when other possibilities beside Rei-chan liking him came to his mind.

“I…” The dogboy looked into pink eyes full of affection and longing. 

Blushing deeply, he looked at the blonde human before him and was speechless. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. All of this was so irrational but real that Rei didn’t know what to say. Was it Nagisa who did this to him? Was his body playing tricks on him? 

Wait…one step after another…so…Nagisa-kun didn’t touch him because he liked him and wanted to give him space? That didn’t make sense…  
He remembered that the article about lovers and love, it said that they wanted to be near each other, enjoy their company and touch each other intimately. His human’s actions were a contradiction to his knowledge. 

On the other side he wanted to touch his human, he wanted to be touched by Nagisa-kun and he enjoyed his company and bickering. Did this mean that he ‘liked’ Nagisa-kun?   
Feeling the heat creeping up his neck Rei flushed completely. 

He…he…he felt something illogical like…’love’…He, the one who was rational, thought in theories and paid attention to knowledge and logic…

When Nagisa saw the other’s deep blush on his face and neck he got his answer. Smiling almost shyly he tried to let the unsaid declaration sink in. Rei-chan liked him back. It was just too good to be true. He had to stop himself from jumping up and down in ecstasy or tackle the dogboy with all his weight because he was just so happy. But this moment was too precious. He had to think of Rei-chan who was obviously overwhelmed by his new discovery. 

So he stood slowly up and took a few steps towards the dogboy. Rei was so busy with himself that he didn’t notice that his human was now standing right before his eyes. Only when Nagisa whispered his name looked Rei confused at the mop of blonde hair. Pink glittering eyes were peeking at him with a light he didn’t see till now. His eyes were so beautiful…They reminded him of precious jewels from a far away country. 

When Nagisa searched in lavender eyes for any sights of acknowledgement he whispered sweetly “I like Rei-chan the most.” 

And finally, finally he touched Rei again. He hugged him gently but firmly showing him the meaning behind his words with action. He smiled so broadly that his cheeks began to hurt but it didn’t matter to him. He was just so happy. Hiding his face in the croak of the other’s neck, he thanked everyone and everything that helped him to achieve this moment. 

Rei could only splutter incoherent words as answer but when the familiar scent hit his nose, he couldn’t hold himself back. He buried his nose in the blonde strains of hair and sighed contently. Finally he felt Nagisa-kun’s warmth again and now he understood just how much he had missed it. He shyly hugged his human back and closed his eyes. He didn’t know if love existed or if it was logical or illogical but in this moment it didn’t matter, he was happy. He was happy to be together with Nagisa-kun and he enjoyed it to his fullest.

“Rei-chan” said the blonde after a few minutes of silence. “Your tail is hitting me.” The dogboy’s blush returned in an instant and he spluttered audibly. Removing his arms from the blonde he tried to stop his tail from wagging uncontrollably. Noticing the snickering of his human, he looked at the other in embarrassment. 

“Don’t worry Rei-chan, it’s cute” flirted Nagisa and winked. The dogboy gaped for a moment and stuttered scandalized, “T-That’s not helping at all!” Holding his tail in his hands, he turned his face to the other side, trying to evade Nagisa’s gaze but his eyes were studying him with growing curiosity. 

“Hey, Rei-chan…” said his human with a hint of teasing while coming closer to the dogboy. “Is your tail sensitive?” He asked and suddenly grabbed the other’s tail. Stroking the silky fur with his fingers he studied curiously the dogboy’s face. 

Rei squeaked in surprise and couldn’t suppress a soft moan. Holding his now free hands before his mouth he looked at his human in shock. Did he make this sound?  
It was embarrassing but it felt so…and he was so…but… 

With big eyes he looked helplessly at his human. He didn’t know that his tail was so sensitive when he shuddered because of the unfamiliar touch and it seemed like the other enjoyed it too much if he considered the light blush on his cheeks, the sparkling pink eyes and the cocky smirk on his lips.

“It’s fine, I’ll be gentle” replied the blonde enticingly. Petting the tail up and down, Nagisa couldn’t get enough of Rei’s reaction. The dogboy was just too cute and pretty that he needed all his energy to stop himself from continuing. Letting the tail slide from his hands, he grinned at the other and said merrily, “It’s time to cook Rei-chan!”

Turning around he walked towards the kitchen but couldn’t stop himself from looking over his shoulder one last time. Pleased with the sight, he licked his lips and left the room.

Rei was still standing at the same place with red cheeks and big eyes. His shaking had stopped but the new unknown feeling in his gut only slowly calmed down. Nagisa-kun was…

Shaking his head he clapped on his cheeks trying to regain his composure. When he heard some clanging and rustling from the kitchen he frowned and sprinted after his human. It wasn’t that Nagisa was bad at cooking, it was more like his taste was pretty weird and sometimes he would use things in an unusual manner, like open fire…Yes, this incident taught Rei that it was better to keep the other company in the kitchen…for both their safety…

 

When the blue haired dogboy changed into his butterfly pajamas his human had bought him on their last shopping trip because ‘he looked so cute and adorable in them’, he noticed Nagisa’s eyes full of expectation. Clearing his throat, he tried to hide his blush when he asked, 

“What is it?”

“Won’t you sleep with me?” And his human did this thing with his eyes: blinking slowly a few times while looking at him pleadingly…’puppy-look’ was it called if he remembered correctly. 

Spluttering he cleared his throat and coughed a few times. “W-What? I. Sleeping. With you? In the same bed?”

“Silly Rei-chan! Of course! Come with me the bed is big enough for both of us. I even went through the trouble of sorting out some of my pillows and plushies just for you!”

And before the poor dogboy could react Nagisa had already grabbed his hand and dragged him along. When he was finally able to think straight again, he found himself buried under blankets, by his side his human and a big stuffed penguin. 

“Good night Rei-chan” mumbled the blonde drowsily. After this long and exhausting day Nagisa was so sleepy that he couldn’t hold his eyes open because feeling the other’s warmth made him so happy that he still smiled with closed eyes. 

“G-Good night Nagisa-kun” replied the dogboy flustered and studied his surroundings, especially the human beside him. So much happened today that he needed to process everything thoroughly but the soft smile on Nagisa’s lips and his happy expression distracted him from his original plans. While watching his human’s slow breathing and peaceful face Rei yawned drowsily when finally sleep arrived.


	19. First Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers!  
> Finally a new chapter (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑ I'm sorry it took so long but I was quite busy （ﾉ´д｀） and I needed some inspiration.  
> I hope you enjoy it and as always I thank you all for the lovely comments and kudos! They really keep me going ヾ(*ゝω・*)ﾉ  
> I'm really glad you enjoyed this story so far (´ヮ`)  
> Pls let me know what you think about this chapter, I'm really curious ☆ヾ(*´▽｀)ﾉ  
> Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Makoto loved the park. It was one sunny Sunday when Haru took him to one of Tokyo’s green islands. In contrast to Iwatobi there were a lot of other crossbreeds around the big city and it seemed like nobody really paid more attention to them than necessary. Somebody could say that the people in Tokyo were more ‘tolerant’ but maybe they simply stopped caring. 

So Haru and Makoto didn’t earn curious gazes or excited whispering when they walked through the busy streets. The brunette dogboy still needed to wear his collar and both were still far too conscious about holding hands in public with so many people present, especially after the whole love declaration. Sometimes their hands would brush against each other and every time it happened, Makoto felt a light spark crawling over his skin. 

Yes, Tokyo was really different than Iwatobi. They were never alone in public and Makoto felt so self-conscious and shy that he didn’t ask for his human’s hand. Maybe it was better this way because now nobody would notice them and he didn’t want to change that.

When both finally arrived at the park the dogboy had to grab Haru’s arm with a little bit more force than usual and dragged him across the entrance while passing a beautiful fountain. The human’s eyes sparkled enthusiastically and Makoto had to stay serious so no spontaneous disaster would occur. 

Finally arriving at an open spot with a few benches the dogboy and his human sat down with a relieved and disappointed sigh. 

Letting his eyes wander over the familiar scene of trees, bushes and flowers, Makoto took a deep breath and enjoyed the earthy scent. It was far too long since he smelled nature. In contrast to his other half he didn’t need to take walks on daily basis but nevertheless he enjoyed the fresh air and exercise. His eyes fell on another crossbreed a little smaller than himself with fluffy light pink hair. He was playing Frisbee with a child who laughed happily. 

The brunette smiled by the scene. It was so nice to witness a good experience between humans and crossbreeds and Makoto was relieved that others were lucky too and enjoyed their life, especially that his friends weren’t the only people who treated crossbreeds nicely. 

Peeking at his human beside him he noticed that his blue eyes followed the little child while smiling softly.  
Sometimes he wondered how Haru and he could share the same thoughts when they only knew each other for a rather short time… Maybe they were meant to meet... Maybe fate…

“Makoto.” The dogboy shook his head a few times to clear his mind. Looking at his human, he studied curiously the other’s expression. 

“It’s fine.” You can go if you want, I’ll wait for you here.

Makoto gulped. It was really tempting: the green grass, the sunshine, other people he could play with, maybe finding new friends…  
Chewing on his bottom lip he fumbled with his hands. He didn’t want to leave his human other wise he would feel guilty. On the other side he knew that Haru wanted to give him some space, letting him experience things on his own, let him grow…  
They had talked about it before leaving the house that new encounters and experiences would help Makoto to overcome his anxiety and fears.  
Feeling a soft squeeze on his thigh Makoto looked up. Gentle azure eyes greeted him and reassured him. With a small nod and growing courage he stood up and walked slowly over to the other crossbreed and the boy. 

Haru looked after him and sighed. He really wanted to keep Makoto to himself, gosh he would lock him up in the apartment so only he was able to see him and that he was the only thing the dogboy would think about all day and night. 

But Haru wasn’t someone how succumbed to his dark thoughts, he simply shook them away and did what he thought was right for Makoto and making new experiences and grow as a person was something like this. He would give Makoto what everybody else was denying him. Of course he was afraid that one day he would leave him that one day the dogboy would grow tired of him but he trusted Makoto. He knew that he wasn’t a person who would leave him easily like the others, he would stay with him…  
With a protective gaze he watched Makoto approaching the others ready to interfere if somebody dared to threaten his beloved dogboy.

With his tail between his legs and dropped ears Makoto walked slowly to the unknown crossbreed and the child. He tried feverishly to find the right words to start a conversation. ‘Hello I’m Makoto’? Or ‘Hi there how are you?’ Maybe ‘Hey guys what’s up?’ Gosh he felt like his stomach was twisting and his confidence, well the little bit that was left, was growing smaller and smaller with each step. 

When he was finally near enough for the others to notice the crossbreed on closer look a foxboy with light pink hair and puffy tail approached him with a big smile. He had two straight plushy ears peeking out of his mop of hair and the dogboy had to admit that he looked charming. He was wearing a light grey shirt and black sweatpants with matching black trainers. His outfit was finished by a yellow-pink checked scarf hiding his collar, so Makoto guessed. At first his clothes seemed kind of random choices but on closer look the dogboy thought that it complimented the other.

“Hi! You’re a new face, who are you?” asked the foxboy in a friendly tone.

Makoto blushed lightly and answered nervously, “I-I’m Makoto.” Suppressing a shiver he tried his best to control his nervousness.

“Hello Makoto! I’m Kisumi. The little boy on the other side is Hayato my cute little human.”

The boy ran to his crossbreed and hid behind his back. While clutching at the other’s shirt he peeked at the dogboy with big purple eyes. 

“Hello Hayato, nice to meet you I’m Makoto” he greeted the other friendly and smiled. Shyly the child took a step forward and replied in a soft voice, “Hello.”

Kisumi grinned proudly and patted his owner’s back. “That was great Hayato! Good job!” After these words the boy smiled happily. Makoto couldn’t stop himself from smiling too because this scene warmed his heart. These two seemed so close, like Haru and him.

“Do you wanna play with us?” asked Kisumi with eyes filled of hope and excitement. Makoto could only nod as response still feeling nervous and afraid of messing up.

The foxboy laid his arm around Makoto’s shoulders and grinned at him. It was so intimate that everyone would think that the two crossbreeds knew each other since years. Makoto was just so overwhelmed that he stumbled beside Kisumi towards the playground unable to deny the sudden contact. 

Trying to breath slowly he tolerated the body contact and suppressed the on rolling shivers. When Kisumi let him go to grab the Frisbee Makoto sighed relieved. Wit a proud smile he peeked over his shoulder, trying to find out if his human saw his improvement. Seeing a deep frown on Haru’s forehead Makoto tilted his head confused to the other side. Was Haru angry? Why did he frown?

A pat on his shoulder shook him out of his thoughts. Turning around he smiled at his two new friends and listened attentively to their game explanation.

Haru clenched his hands so strong that his knuckles became white. He had to stop himself from dashing to Makoto and slapping the other crossbreed in his face for touching his beloved dogboy. But he couldn’t do that, Makoto was making new friends outside his circle of friends and it was his first attempt in socializing with strangers. He would never destroy this important experience for Makoto therefore he had to stay on the bench and watch the whole interaction. Maybe this was a good exercise for him to suppress his possessive trait. 

The three played a few rounds of Frisbee and basketball till Hayato lay on the ground trying to catch his breath. Looking at the boy with an understanding gaze the two crossbreeds took little break too. 

Sitting under a tree side by side Kisumi asked Makoto about his home. At first the brunette dogboy was kinda shy because he didn’t know if he was allowed to talk about it but the foxboy was so open and friendly that after a while he told him his whole story till now. With shining green eyes and wagging tail Makoto described his life with his most important human. 

Kisumi listened to him with a soft smile knowing that Makoto had a harsher past than himself. When the dogboy finally ended he looked expectantly at the other ready to listen to his story.

“Oh my story isn’t so special”, said Kisumi while leaning back on his arms. “Hayato’s parents wanted somebody who could protect their son from bullies and other perverts so they bought me”, whispered the foxboy and shrugged. 

“We match each other in hair and eye color because I was designed after him. When I wear my cap and hide my tail nobody would think that I’m a crossbreed so everybody treats us as siblings” and Kisumi winked with a knowing smile. Peeking at his human, he made sure that the boy didn’t understand the words he was saying. He was still too tired from playing and with closed eyes he looked like he was already asleep.

Makoto didn’t really know what to answer as reply but somehow it sounded nice, having siblings…when he was honest he imagined sometimes how it would be being an older brother, taking care of his sister or brother, play with them, teach them things…Yes it would be definitely nice…  
He felt a light familiar pang in his chest when his thoughts wandered to wishes nobody could fulfill him. He knew that he would never be able to have siblings because there wasn’t something like childhood or family in the world of crossbreeds. Everybody was on his own…

Reminding himself of Kisumi’s and Hayato’s presence he hid his sad expression behind a big smile. “That sounds really nice Kisumi.” 

“Yeah it is!” The foxboy ruffled affectionately his human’s hair while the other pouted visibly, cracking an eye open in discomfort. 

“Nii-chaaaaan!” protested Hayato and got a hold on Kisumi’s hand.

“Hayato, it’s time to go home. How about you pick up the basketball and the Frisbee? Then we can buy ice cream on our way” replied Kisumi merrily.

“YAY! Ice cream!” shouted the boy happily, stood up within an instant and dashed away. Makoto chuckled quietly when he saw how energetic Hayato became if it came to ice-cream.

With an almost sad expression the foxboy faced Makoto again and explained, “He thinks he’s my brother. His parents told him that I’m his lost brother from a different country where people live with animal traits.” Kisumi sighed and looked after his human with a soft smile. “I’m glad they told him some little fairytale like this. It makes things easier and he doesn’t have to know the shit that’s really going on, right?” 

Makoto studied the grinning foxboy speechlessly. He nodded as response unable to find the right words. There were so many things in his head, so many words he wanted to say but nothing came out. After a few moments Kisumi stood up and brushed the grass from his sweatpants away.

He looked at the dogboy with a broad smile. “It was really nice meeting you Makoto. Hope we can stay in contact. Hayato and I always go to the park at this time of the day so maybe you want to join us next week again?”

With wagging tail Makoto replied, “O-Of course, sounds nice!”

“Great! Hayato and I really like you” he said charmingly with a wink and turned around, running to his human. He took the boy’s hand in his and both waved enthusiastically with the other at him. 

The dogboy simply smiled back at them and shyly waved his good bye. Returning to Haru’s side, Makoto slumped down on the bench and sighed contently. 

“They were really nice Haru. You have to meet them next time…” And Makoto told his human merrily everything he and his new friends did and how much fun he had. Haru listened to him attentively, from time to time encouraging or responding with a simple nod or grunt.  
Maybe he would meet Makoto’s new friends, even if it seemed like this foxboy was far too clingy with the dogboy, he would tolerate it, for Makoto’s sake.

 

 

 

“Sousuke, we have to go to the game center” said Rin solemnly while both ate their breakfast. Confused the dogboy looked at his human and stopped eating for a brief moment.

“Why?” He asked while eying the other. For Rin to announce something like that in this way was kinda weird.

“Because! I…” Rin cleared his throat. “There’s something I’m looking for.” The human turned his face away, hiding the light blush on his cheeks.

Lifting one of his eyebrows the dogboy studied closely the redhead’s expression. He was hiding something that was obvious but why was he embarrassed? He had already mentioned that he wanted to visit one when they freshly moved to Tokyo so why did he react like that?

Rin peeked at the black haired dogboy from the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t say it, not now. It was just too embarrassing. He had watched many series and read the one or other manga but this time he couldn’t ignore it. It was a ‘one in a life time’ chance.  
Studying the dogboy while waiting for his response, Rin thought about the other’s confession a while back. Unintentionally increasing the heat in his cheeks he saw that Sousuke finally shrugged and resumed eating his breakfast. With a victorious grin Rin followed suit and couldn’t suppress his growing excitement.

 

When both arrived at the game center in the centre of Akihabara Sousuke was already overwhelmed by the unfamiliar crowd of people. On their way through the district he saw so many persons with weird outfits. Some were wearing gothic outfits with black leather and frills while others were simply cosplaying their favorite character. It was kind of funny and ironic that some humans were wearing cat ears and dressing up like other animals. And here he was, trying to be as human as possible, hiding his ears and tail while other humans try to be as animalistic as possible…Simply ironic…  
Touching his collar lightly with his fingertips he reminded himself that he could try to hide his ears and tail all he wanted but it wouldn’t change the fact that he was different than the others. He adjusted the scarf that hid the spikes and leather and followed his human.

In contrast to the confused dogboy Rin was marching straight to the entrance without wavering. Dragging Sousuke by his arm inside he scanned the lines of different ufo catchers till his eyes met the one he was looking for. With wide steps he walked over to the machine and looked at its content. Beside him Sousuke studied the little figures with a frown. Peeking at his human he silently asked why he was so interested in simple plastic figures. They seemed like nothing special…

As if reading his thoughts the redhead turned to him and explained excitedly while pulling at his sleeve, “Dude, these are special limited model figures of Deep Sea Trouble!” With sparkling eyes he examined each separate figure. The black haired dogboy sighed and tried to figure out what was so special about it. Yes he had watched this series with his human and yes it was one of his favorites but still…

Extracting his wallet out of his pocket his human entered the needed coin and laid his hands over the controls of the claw crane. With a toothy grin and determinate eyes he moved the claw to one of the desired figures and grabbed it. 

“Yes!” shouted Rin victoriously and directed carefully the crane to the exit. In the last moment the figure slipped out of the claw and dropped to the pile of the remaining ones. Rin’s eyes became big. He couldn’t believe it.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! 

He snorted angrily and stomped his foot. He almost had it! With too much energy he inserted another coin and resumed his hunt with furious red eyes.

Meanwhile Sousuke stood beside him and watched him closely. He somehow understood the system behind the unknown machine. You had to use some strategy and of course you needed some luck therefore he couldn’t quite understand why Rin after failing the 6th time grabbed the ufo catcher angrily and shook it furiously. It didn’t seem THAT difficult…

Silently cursing his human inserted another coin. The dogboy looked from the machine to his human and back. Worry filled his mind. The redhead was so furious because of his failed attempts that Sousuke wasn’t sure if he could control himself anymore. The possibility of smashing the machine occurred to him and with determinate eyes he studied his human. Poking his shoulder after another failure Rin looked at him with burning red eyes.

“WHAT?” he snapped angrily.

“Let me try”, replied Sousuke calmly. 

Rin looked into serious teal eyes. “Tch. Fine.” 

The redhead inserted another coin and gave Sousuke the space he needed. Eyeing the controller and buttons he studied the little figures inside the machine in search for Rin’s preferred one. Choosing his target he began to move the claw crane calmly but surely. 

Rin watched him with crossed arms. As if Sousuke would be able to do it at his first attempt… He had already years of secret practice and was still not successful. But after a few seconds he held his breath when the dogboy easily grabbed one of the figures and moved it to the exit. With a loud clang it dropped down and he fetched it. Handing it over with a smug grin he couldn’t quite suppress, he looked expectantly at his human. 

The redhead didn’t notice the other’s grin because he was too flabbergasted by the whole scene and of course grateful because Sousuke was able to give him what he couldn’t get on his own. With almost shy hands he took the little figure and inspected it closely. This was his most favorite character and he had already imagined himself of not getting it and now Sousuke caught it for him. With sparkling eyes he looked at the grinning dogboy.

“Sousuke…” Pressing his lips together, Rin uttered a soft “thank you” and pressed the figure to his chest. When his emotions calmed down, he inspected the pile of figures in the machine and his eyes began to shine. Giving Sousuke his wallet he said, “Catch the rest!” and returned his gaze to the inside. 

The dogboy eyed the wallet with eyes full of surprise. He thought that it was over, he thought that they could go back home… Sighing exhausted he extracted a coin and inserted it. Handing the wallet over to his owner he laid his hands over the controls and focused his next target. 

After another hour Rin and Sousuke were on their way home. With a happy face and whistling cheerfully his human swung the plastic bag in his hand. Peeking at the man beside him the dogboy was brimmed with happiness and love. Seeing his most important human like this and knowing that he was the cause of it made his heart swell. Even if the last hour was kind of annoying he was still glad that he did it. 

Sometimes he would accidentally brush against the other’s hand and gasp while his heart skipped a beat. Yes, it was a wonderful day thought Sousuke to himself. Then he slightly frowned and questioned himself when he became so cheesy. On the other hand it didn’t really matter because nobody could read his mind and he was grateful for that. With a soft smile he studied Rin’s happy expression. Maybe he was one step closer to make him fall in love with him. 

They walked a few minutes in comfortable silence till Rin asked hesitantly, 

“Hey Sousuke, can I get you something?” Embarrassed red eyes met surprised teal ones.

“Huh?”

Rubbing his neck, his human continued, “Well you helped me so much today and I kind of want to repay you.”

Sousuke studied the other’s expression and replied, “You don’t have to repay me. I didn’t do anything.”

“No, I mean, it’s not like that…I want to do something good for you too” mumbled the redhead embarrassed while trying to evade the other’s gaze. 

The dogboy blushed unwillingly. Rin was just so cute and adorable in that moment that he didn’t know what to do. Turning his face away, he covered his mouth to hide his goofy grin. Nevertheless Rin noticed his wildly wagging tail and grinned at the sigh. Even if the other tried to hide his emotions, some parts would still be visible, thanks to his animalistic side. 

“Come on, tell me” chirped his human teasingly while poking his side. 

Sousuke shrugged the other off and cerebrated. What could Rin do? Letting his mind wander he spluttered. Shit, this was bad. Pictures of Rin kissing him flooded his mind and he couldn’t stop it. It was just so overwhelming that he tried with all his might to change this train of thoughts. The redhead noticed that the dogboy was acting different than a few moments ago. So he studied his face even closer, seeing his blushed cheeks and shocked eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.

With wide eyes Sousuke looked at his human and cursed inside. Now it happened again and it was so hard to hold these thoughts at bay. Turning his face away, he grunted as response.

“Dude you look like a tomato. So what’s wrong?” Rin repeated stronger.

Trying to regain his composure Sousuke took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. Then he peeked at his human and an idea hit him. He could try. It was bold and there was a high chance that Rin wouldn’t do it but he could try. After all he made a decision to do anything he needed so…

Peeking at his human again he said quietly, “I want a kiss.”

Rin blinked a few times till understanding hit him. Blushing within a few seconds his eyes became big. “W-W-What?!” he stuttered and turned his face away in embarrassment. 

The dogboy studied his human for any response to his wish. Would he do it? Was there a chance?

The redhead looked at the passing trees and houses while his mind was a mess, again. Somehow the dogboy had talent to drive him crazy but not in a bad way. He really was touching his borders now. Unknowingly biting his bottom lip, Rin thought about refusing his wish or making it come true. Was there any harm in kissing him? He had already kissed so many people therefore it wasn’t something special but somehow he was still embarrassed… Cursing inside he chewed on his lip while making his decision. Kissing was easy. There was nothing wrong with a kiss. 

Peeking into hopeful and nervous teal eyes he sighed. 

“Fine.”

Sousuke stopped in his tracks when he heard the other’s reply. Hiding his surprise he jogged after his human and returned to his side. Smiling goofily he enjoyed the feeling of happiness filling his heart. He did it. Rin would kiss him. He would really kiss him. 

His human could only smile to himself when he saw the other’s far too happy expression. He really liked Sousuke’s smiles the best. 

 

So when both entered their flat Rin dropped the bag carefully on the table and turned to the dogboy. With a light blush on his cheeks he asked, “You ready?”

Sousuke gulped and nodded. Clenching his sweating fists he couldn’t suppress his growing excitement and nervousness. 

“Close your eyes” demanded his human sternly. Being a good dogboy, Sousuke obeyed immediately.

Taking a few steps forward Rin studied nervously the other’s face. He had to admit that Sousuke looked really handsome. He studied his face with growing interest. How did his skin feel like? Would it be soft? Rough? Would he blush if he touched him? Would he like it? 

Being captivated by these thoughts Rin let his fingertips slide over one of Sousuke’s cheeks. He could clearly see how the dogboy held his breath while shuddering. Biting his bottom lip the redhead couldn’t deny that it was tempting, this whole situation, the atmosphere, Sousuke…

Laying one of his hands on the other’s shoulder his face came closer and closer to Sousuke’s till he was only a breath away from him. Closing his eyes he touched the blushed cheek with his lips and kissed the dogboy softly. Staying in this position for a few moments he retreated as slowly as he came and studied Sousuke’s face again. Surprised watery teal eyes looked at him in shock. Unknowingly touching the skin where Rin kissed him Sousuke looked dumbfounded at his human. He felt like he would explode. Rin’s lips were so soft and delicate and…

Seeing the smug grin on his human’s face the dogboy tried to calm down as fast as possible. 

“Here you go Sousuke” said Rin smugly and turned around. Walking over to the plastic bag he grinned even wider. He couldn’t deny that he liked to tease Sousuke especially when his calm façade crumbled. 

The dogboy snorted after a few moments and bit his lip. Rin was such a tease. He would so make him fall in love with him! Walking after his human with wagging tail he sniffed at the other’s scent and smiled unintentionally. This had really been a good day…

 

 

 

 

After arriving at home later than usual, Nagisa was greeted by Rei with crossed arms and stern eyes.

“It’s late Nagisa-kun. Where were you?” asked the blue haired dogboy in a commanding voice.

The blonde jerked guiltily. “Eh you know Rei-chan, there was something I had to do and that’s why I’m late.”

Studying his human Rei raised one of his eyebrows waiting for the other to continue.

“Rei-chan…” Nagisa looked at the dogboy with a nervous expression, shifting his gaze from the dogboy to the floor and back.

“Yes Nagisa-kun?” asked the other with growing worry because of Nagisa’s unusual behavior. Normally he would tell him everything freely otherwise it was something uncomfortable or bad.

“Eh you know Rei-chan…” His human was obviously trying to evade the topic at hand and it irritated Rei. Waiting for a few moments, he responded, “Yes Nagisa-kun?”

“I…kind of…adoptedapenguinbaby!” said the blonde hurriedly and closed his eyes.

Rei blinked slowly a few times. Processing the said words his mouth hung open. “WHAT? You did what?!”

“I’m sorry Rei-chan but he was so cute and he needed help and I had to do it because otherwise this poor thing would die!” Nagisa rambled desperately and when he finished he looked at the dogboy with his famous puppy look Rei was weak against.

Clearing his throat the other turned his face away and crossed his arms. “How could you even do that? Penguins aren’t pets, especially babies. I thought you were more responsible Nagisa-kun…” The slight hint of disappointment in Rei’s voice let the blonde’s heart sink. 

Rubbing his head against the other’s back he replied, “I’m sorry Rei-chan! But won’t you at least meet him?”

The dogboy’s eyebrow twitched. Peeking at his human he asked quietly, “Meet?”

“Yes. You have to see him, he’s really cute…We can take my scooter and within 10 minutes we are at the zoo. You will love him, I promise!”

Rei looked at the other in disbelieve. So…he…didn’t buy a penguin but really adopted one in a zoo? He was speechless for several seconds because he seriously believed that his human had bought a real one, somehow he could imagine it just too well but it seemed like he misunderstood him and it was rather embarrassing to admit it. Therefore he cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses and replied overly calmly to hide his mistake, “Very well.”

Within an instant Nagisa’s eyes lit up and he tackled the dogboy happily. “Yay! Rei-chan that will be so much fun! I’m so happy you want to meet Iwatobi-chan!”

“… Iwatobi-chan?” He asked in disbelieve. It wasn’t new to him that the blonde was blessed with a rather wild fantasy but to name a penguin ‘Iwatobi-chan’ was really…unexpected…

“Yes! Because he looks so cute and he reminds me of Iwatobi-chan bread and he really looks a lot like him!”

“…I see…” replied the dogboy hesitantly without understanding a thing but he didn’t mind. He would solve the puzzle as soon as he would see this cute ‘Iwatobi-chan’.

 

On the whole way to the zoo Nagisa chattered merrily about his new adoption while Rei still frowned lightly. He tried to summarize all the information the other told him plus his previous knowledge but from time to time some things wouldn’t match and with a growing headache he listened to the blonde’s cheerful voice. When they finally arrived at the zoo Nagisa was already dragging the dogboy to the compound. 

Leaning on the handrail his human exclaimed happily, “Look, look! Over there! There’s Iwatobi-chan!” He waved enthusiastically at the little penguin that sat on one of the rocks and looked at him with a blank expression. 

Rei studied the new species closely. He had already seen pictures of different kind of animals and he knew how a penguin looked like but seeing it up close was somehow different. Taking a step forward he stood beside his human and fixated the little animal with his lavender eyes. 

Because of the new disturbance the penguins became curious. Waddling closer a whole group of them stood at the other end of the rail with shining brown eyes. Nagisa was enraptured by it. He loved penguins so much that he enjoyed this moment fully. Exclaiming merrily how cute and adorable the little animals looked he didn’t notice the dogboy’s frown. Of course Rei knew that Nagisa liked penguins but they seemed so…unspectacular? They didn’t do anything special. They only looked at them with blank eyes and his human was still talking about how great they were. 

There had to be something… With expectant lavender eyes he studied the little penguins that began to swim around their pool. Looking from the penguins to his human back and forth the dogboy tried to see what the other was seeing in them. When one of the penguins waddled closer to the rail he caught the dogboy’s attention. 

“This is Iwatobi-chan!” explained Nagisa happily while pointing at the animal before them.

Rei inspected him closely when the little penguin jumped suddenly in the air. His eyes became wide. The penguin jumped again and landed on his stomach with a loud thump. Nagisa chuckled while Rei’s tail began to wag slowly but faster with each time. 

Somehow…he…really looked…cute and…beautiful! And the dogboy gripped the rail tightly with his hands while leaning forward to get a better look. Penguins were really cute and beautiful! Their black and white silhouette, their brown but bright eyes, their little feet!

“Beautiful!” exclaimed Rei with shining lavender eyes and wildly wagging tail.

Nagisa studied the dogboy curiously and smiled fondly. He knew that Rei-chan would like them, it would be only a matter of time and with a smug grin he turned his gaze back to the compound. The other didn’t notice his reaction because the penguins caught his full attention. 

After several hours and visiting other animals, Nagisa and Rei were on their way home. The blue haired dogboy talked enthusiastically about the new seen species especially the butterfly garden. He was amazed by the different shades of rainbow colors and the possibility of touching these fragile ‘beautiful creatures’. Nagisa listened to him with a broad smile. When his eyes met a fruit stand he dragged the other with him and bought a watermelon. Because of the warm weather and the long walks he knew that both would enjoy the fresh and sweet flavor. 

 

When the two of them returned to their previous way Nagisa was merrily swinging the bag with the watermelon while Rei eyed him worriedly. 

“Be careful Nagisa-kun otherwise the watermelon will be damaged.”

“Don’t worry Rei-chan, I’ll be careful!” But somehow the dogboy wasn’t really convinced by that. 

On their whole way back home he would watch the swinging bag and their surroundings with twitching ears, ready to act if any kind of obstacle would present itself. From time to time he would tug at his human’s arm so that the other would take one step to the side and the bag wouldn’t hit the lamppost. Nervously wagging his tail from side to side Rei walked tensely beside the oblivious blonde. Every now and then he would peek at his human and return the other’s smile with a small one of his own.

The dogboy sighed relieved when he finally closed the door behind him. Nagisa was already placing the bag on top of the table and searched for a knife through his closets. Seeing Nagisa holding the knife in a dangerous manner Rei hurried to him and took the knife.

“Let me cut it” said the dogboy slightly nervous and began to cut small pieces of watermelon.

His human watched him with bright eyes already waiting for the desired fruit. Grabbing one of the pieces he took a big bite and sighed happily. 

“Delicious!” he exclaimed between chewing and smiled with full mouth. When he swallowed the bits he collected all the seeds in one of his cheeks and spit it with high speed in the trash can. The dogboy watched him with shocked eyes and open mouth. When Nagisa noticed the other’s reaction he grinned and chirped merrily, “It’s fun Rei-chan! Try it! Let’s see who can spit them wider and faster and maybe you can even draw a pretty butterfly…”

First Rei looked at him in disbelieve but when he heard the words’ pretty’ and ‘butterfly’ something clicked in his mind. With a big grin he adjusted his glasses and replied, “We shall see Nagisa-kun! I’ll show you a beautiful sight!”

And within a few minutes both were shooting watermelon seeds like crazy.

After the whole watermelon was eaten by the two of them both lay on the couch and rubbed their stomachs while groaning exhausted.

“I think we ate too much…”

“Agreed…” Rei grunted flatly so unlike to his usual eloquent manner. He closed his eyes and smiled softly when he thought about his visit at the zoo. Nagisa patted his head with an absent mind while holding his stomach. Unintentionally wagging his tail the dogboy enjoyed the new attention. 

After a few moments the blonde asked, “Rei-chan…?”

Turning his face to the others’ side he grunted, “Hm?”

“Who won?”

“Huh?”

“Who won the competition?” 

Rei had to think about their little battle and adjusted his glasses. “I would say that I won by 4cm.”

“Awe I don’t believe youuuuuuu! I was faster than you and I hit the bottom of the trash can like 3 times!” whined Nagisa scandalized.

“Nagisa-kun, that’s because you cheated! You took 2 steps forward when you shot!”

“We never said that it wasn’t allowed…” pouted his human while puffing up his cheeks.

After being silent for a few seconds Nagisa began to grin toothy. Focusing his pink eyes on the dogboy, he said teasingly, “And what do you want as price?”

“Price?” asked the other surprised. 

His human slid a little bit closer and asked again in a flirty tone, “So Rei-chan, what do you want as price?” He blinked slowly a few times knowing the reaction he would cause. The dogboy gasped and a slight blush colored his cheeks. Clearing his throat he coughed a few times and replied,” The feeling of being victorious is enough for me.”

“Awe Rei-chan, you’re no fun”, teased his human playfully and poked the other’s cheek. 

“And here I was giving you the opportunity of wishing for anything you wanted…” He rubbed the other’s skin with his fingertip and gained a shiver as response. Pleased with this Nagisa came even closer till both faces were only a breath apart. 

The blue haired dogboy swallowed audibly. “M-Maybe I…eh…deserve a price after all?”

Nagisa had to smile when he listened to Rei’s words. He became cockier he thought and congratulated himself internally for the other’s progress. He liked when the dogboy was more open and more demanding because he felt like Rei lost some of his restrains. For this he needed a reward…

So his human began to scratch the dogboy’s weak spot. Moaning softly by the unexpected touch Rei closed his eyes in pleasure. Being stroked behind his ears was one of his secret enjoyments only his human knew. Suppressing a content sigh he pressed his head against the other’s touch. With a tender smile Nagisa enjoyed the feeling of soft blue hair and the blissful expression on the dogboy’s face. 

“Rei-chan..?” asked Nagisa softly.

One of Rei’s ears twitched. “Hm?” he replied lazily with still closed eyes.

“You know…when you were going to the restroom at the zoo…I…kind of…adopted another penguin!”

When Nagisa’s words reached Rei’s consciousness he abruptly lifted his head and his eyes widened in shock. “WHAT?!”

Rubbing the back of his head the blonde replied, “Don’t worry Rei-chan. She’s also cute.”

“That’s not the issue!” exclaimed the dogboy hysterically. 

“Of course Rei-chan. Iwatobi-chan needs a cute girlfriend” explained Nagisa as if he would talk about a serious topic like politics.

Somehow exhausted by the whole day the dogboy slumped tiredly down and sighed.

“Hey, don’t be depressed. I even bought you a picture book of butterflies!” said his human sweetly.

Rei’s ears twitched. Cracking an eye open he looked into smiling pink eyes unable to control his now wagging tail and growing excitement. Sometimes he didn’t know if Nagisa-kun was simply nice or manipulated him. It seemed like both possibilities were imaginable…


	20. First Task

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Finally a new chapter (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و I'm so sorry but life kept me really busy and I had no free time to write something ( ≧Д≦) and then I had a writer's block...  
> I hope you enjoy this new chapter, let me know what you think of it ヾ(*ゝω・*)ﾉ It shows a little peek of the next 'arc' so I hope you all are excited (because I really am!)  
> Thanks for all the kudos and lovely comments, they always help me to stay motivated <3   
> Till next time ☆ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉو

Sosuke looked at the new shelf with a frown on his face. Counting the growing number of plastic figures he asked himself how someone could spend so much money on something simple like that. The first time he asked seriously his owner about the topic Rin looked at him in shock. He couldn’t believe that the dogboy wouldn’t understand his passion for collecting merchandising of his favorite series. Explaining the basics and joys of collecting things you like the redhead spent hours and hours talking. Still Sosuke couldn’t quite follow his speech.

“I think it’s time that YOU find something you like and want” announced Rin with a full mouth while pointing his chopsticks at the eating dogboy. 

Sosuke snorted. As if he needed to buy plastic figures to be happy.

“So what do you like?” asked the redhead while chewing on his meat.

‘You’ was the first thing that came to the dogboy’s mind but he kept his mouth shut. Instead he grumbled and crossed his arms while thinking. “Food” he announced after a few moments.

With an annoyed look his owner studied the other and replied, “You can’t collect food.”

“Why do I have to collect something?!” said Sosuke irritated while lifting one of his eyebrows. 

“Because it’s fun and you need a hobby!” 

“Tch.” 

Turning his head away, Sosuke looked at the other side. A hobby was a luxury he didn’t own in the past and now living with Rin was enough for him. He didn’t need plastic figures or special edition DVD’s to be happy. On the other hand he didn’t want to impose on his human especially spending money on him was something he tried to evade at all costs. He knew that he needed clothes so he accepted the shopping offer the last time but other stuff was unnecessary in his eyes.

“Dude…Seriously you need to find something you like besides food” said his human with a hint of concern in his voice. 

Of course Rin tried to help him and Sosuke knew it all too well but still…

“Maybe you need some spark of creativity! Let’s go to the mall!” The redhead announced enthusiastically. 

Sosuke sighed defeated. At least he could try to find something even if he didn’t really want to look for it.

 

So Rin and Sosuke went to the nearby mall after their meal. With a grumpy face the black haired dogboy followed his human in silence. Hiding his hands in his trouser pockets he lazily studied the now familiar surroundings. There were a lot of clothes shops, some food stalls and the one or other bookstore. Using the escalator to enter the upper floor red eyes searched intensely through the different shop windows. When he finally found what he was looking for he grabbed Sosuke’s arm and dragged him along. With an annoyed expression the other followed him obediently while trying to find out what caught the redhead’s eye. 

It was a little shop with books and toys at its display. Nothing special. Almost too old for the modern surroundings.

“I really love this one. It’s so quiet and well organized and you can find stuff you will never find somewhere else” explained Rin while walking through the sliding door.

When the black haired dogboy entered the shop he was hit by an almost nostalgic scent. There were the scents of old books and papers, some flowers which name he forgot and something sweet.

Rin dragged him to one of the shelves till he finally let him go. 

“Here. Now you can try to look for something you like. And if you find it, let me know asap!” He shouted over his shoulder while walking to the other side of the store.

With an almost lost expression Sosuke looked after his human while standing between two shelves full of books, toys and stuff he didn’t know. Snorting once he crossed his arms and frowned. How could his human leave him like that…Deep down he was hoping that Rin would help him with his search and maybe they would spend more time with each other. God he really wanted to spend more time with him, especially at home, lazing around…

Home…

With a deep frown the dogboy turned to one of the shelves and sighed. Well they were here now so it was too late for regrets…

He studied closely the colorful little figures and different spines of the books. After a few minutes he sighed again. Nothing caught his eye and he was somehow annoyed by himself. 

Rin took pains to go out of his way and take him to his favorite store and now here he was without being smarter one bit. But he wouldn’t give up. He would find something. 

With knitted eyebrows he observed the other shelf scanning through the different content.   
After the third shelf he rubbed his eyes tiredly. Looking so closely at the stuff wasn’t the best idea. He hit lightly his cheeks a few times and began his search again. 

From the corner of his eyes red hair caught his attention. He silently took a few steps towards his interest and hid behind one of the shelves. His human was reading a book with a soft smile on his lips. He looked so lovely and serene that Sosuke swallowed hard. He really loved him so much…And every time he saw a new part of his personality he couldn’t stop the butterflies in his belly or the warmth that would fill his whole inside. 

After a few minutes of enjoying the view he reminded himself that he had a task to fulfill. With reluctance he stepped backwards and finally turned around after a fierce battle inside his head.

When he returned to the other side of the store where he abandoned his search last time he studied the shelves again. Then something caught his eye. He looked closely at the little toy right before his eyes. 

Snorting once he turned around and crossed his arms. It wasn’t the least bit manly and he really didn’t need something like this…

But…

Shyly looking over his shoulder his gaze fell instantly on the little plush piglet sitting in the middle of the third shelf. 

It was…somehow…nice…and the red scarf around his neck that had the same color as Rin’s eyes…

His tail began to wag unknowingly. Fighting with himself he tore his eyes away. 

“Yo!” Rin greeted him and laid his hand on the other’s shoulder. Sosuke jerked unwillingly. He didn’t notice that his human was now standing right beside him with a toothy grin and two books in his hands. 

“And, did you find something?” asked the redhead curiously.

Unwillingly taking a quick peek at the piglet he turned to his human and shook slowly his head. 

The grin immediately left the other’s face and Sosuke felt like he should slap himself for being the cause of it.

“Well…Don’t worry you will find something, I’m sure!” replied his human almost too cheerfully. 

“Come on, I’ll buy these books and then we can visit another store.”

Rin walked towards the checkout leaving a confused dogboy behind. Looking at the little piglet again he crossed his arms and frowned. It’s not like he lied, right? 

Okay…

Maybe he lied a little…

But how could he explain that a stupid little plush piglet caught his interest?! This was embarrassing! 

Signing he closed his eyes. 

Okay it wasn’t stupid and he was sorry that he insulted it…

Wait…

Did he just apologize to a fucking plush toy?! 

Opening his eyes in distaste his frown deepened. 

“Sosuke come on!” shouted Rin from the checkout.  
Walking to his human without taking another look at the piglet he still thought about his two options of saying something or remaining silent. 

It was nice…somehow…and the scarf looked really good…

Grinding his teeth he sighed exhausted. There was no way out of it.

“Rin…” he uttered almost inaudibly.

Surprised his human turned around and looked at him with questioned eyes. “What’s up?”

Rubbing his head awkwardly the dogboy looked to the other side and replied, “I...kind of…found something…”

“Oh really! Why didn’t you say something! Show me show me!” said the other eagerly while following him back to the shelves. 

Stopping before the third shelf Sosuke stared at the little piglet with its red scarf and tiny black eyes. Rin curiously followed his gaze till he laid his eyes on the plush toy. Switching his gaze from the toy to Sousuke and back he couldn’t quite believe that the other liked something like this. It wasn’t that it was ugly or something, actually it was quite cute and adorable but for Sosuke to pick something like this…

Rin suppressed a chuckle. Deep down he was a big softy. 

Taking the little piglet into his hands he inspected it closely. Sosuke on the other side gulped. He was ready for being laughed at or getting teased by him but Rin didn’t do anything like that, instead he looked at the little piglet with soft eyes and offered it to the dogboy.

“Here. Let’s go.”

And without another word his human left the speechless dogboy. Shaking his head a few times Sosuke followed shortly after with the little piglet in his hands and happily wagging tail.

 

 

On their way home the black haired dogboy couldn’t stop himself from peeking at the plastic bag in his hands. When both finally arrived at home he hid his eagerness behind a bored expression while extracting his plush toy out of the bag. He silently walked into his room and slowly closed the door. When he was sure that nobody was watching him he rubbed his nose against the soft belly of the piglet. Smiling contently he enjoyed the fluffy fur and lingering scent of the store.

His enjoyment was interrupted by a few knocks on his door.

“Sosuke, I’m hungry let’s cook dinner!” shouted Rin from the other side of the door.

“Coming!” replied Sosuke immediately and carefully placed the piglet on his pillow. When he was satisfied with its position he hurriedly left his room and followed after his human. 

 

 

 

 

It was almost over. Only a little bit more…  
Makoto was looking at the ground with tears filling his eyes. The pain that crawled over his skin was nothing compared to the shame and self hatred he felt for himself. He didn’t dare to peek back in fear that he might cause even more pain. He closed his eyes tightly enduring everything as best as he can without breaking…

When his human had finished Makoto collapsed on the cold wooden floor covered in sweat and blood. Every muscle and movement ached but he was proud of himself, he didn’t scream this time. When he finally took a deep breath a low voice shattered his recovery in pieces, 

“We aren’t finished…”

And Makoto bit his lips so hard that blood was dripping down his chin but he didn’t care. He shivered in fear for the upcoming treatment. When the pain was almost too much to bear, he opened his eyes just a tiny bit while a single tear ran down his cheek. He prayed that it would stop, that somebody would save him…But this night nobody came…

 

 

Makoto suddenly opened his eyes while catching his breath. Blinking a few times he looked around and tried to understand what just happened. He was still shivering and he could still feel the pain and shame in his bones. 

Azure eyes looked at him in worry and he needed a few moments till he understood the situation. It has been almost 2 month since he had the last nightmare but this time was one of his worst memories. 

Closing his eyes he tried to control the shivering. His tail tucked between his legs and embracing himself he counted till ten. Slowly but surely he calmed himself down encouraged by a warm hand over his. Studying his human beside him he smiled weakly ashamed by his own reaction. He did it again. He bothered his human and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Makoto.” Haru said in a soft voice, asking unsaid questions the dogboy understood by now.

“I-It’s fine Haru…” answered Makoto weakly.

His human opened his arms widely and embraced him tenderly. Closing his eyes the dogboy enjoyed the warmth his human emitted. In Haru’s arms he felt so safe and when his human began to stroke his hair he relaxed in the other’s arms. 

It took Haru almost a whole hour till the dogboy had calmed down completely and was sleeping again. Seeing Makoto like this broke his heart every time, and every time he really wanted to punish those people how did this to him. But he was glad that these nightmares happened less by now. Fortunately he now knew how to effectively calm the other down.

Haru frowned when he noticed the little wetness around the dogboy’s closed eyes. He delicately removed the tears and kissed his forehead. 

Somehow he felt something uncomfortable in his gut, he couldn’t quite describe it, like something bad would happen but he wasn’t superstitious. Nevertheless he couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling away. Holding Makoto tighter in his arms, he rested his head on the others and tried to catch some sleep.

 

When Makoto woke up again he blinked drowsily at the other end of the bed. Noticing the blank space beside him he patted the sheet and felt the soft fabric. Taking a sniff at the air his tail began to wag happily. With a merry grin he jumped out of the bed and trotted towards the kitchen. He was greeted by the wonderful scent of pancakes and hot cocoa mixed with mackerel and miso soup. It was a rather odd mixture but the brown haired dogboy got used to it. Haru didn’t really like sweet food but he would make an exception for Makoto and every time his heart fluttered by the thought of special treatment. Bouncing around the table he looked over the other’s shoulder and inspected the pan’s content. Liking his lips he had to stop himself from drooling. 

His human’s eyes wandered from the table to his, announcing a silent command. Of course Makoto understood it and obediently set the table for breakfast. Waiting patiently on his seat the only thing that betrayed his excitement was his tail constantly hitting the table leg.

Haru watched the dogboy from the corner of his eyes with a relieved expression. Cocoa and pancakes worked every time when he had to cheer the other up, especially after such a bad nightmare. With a soft smile he watched Makoto how he devoured pancake after pancake with a blissful expression. The human ignored the uneasy feeling in his stomach, shoving it wide wide away from his consciousness.

When the dogboy had finished he grinned contently at his human with wagging tail. “That was really delicious!” He announced merrily and licked his lips.

Haru studied him for a moment with serious eyes and suddenly extended his arm over the table. Touching the corner of Makoto’s mouth with his index finger, he cleaned the trace of cocoa and retracted his hand. Eying the finger tip for a brief moment he licked the cocoa away while thinking that the flavor was quite right. When he finally looked up again he noticed the dogboy’s bean red face, his slightly open mouth and his big green eyes. 

Hurriedly hiding his face behind his two hands Makoto peeked shyly through his fingers and eyed his human. Sometimes he asked himself if the other knew which effect he had on him. This gesture seemed so innocent and yet his heart was beating wildly and he yearned for the other’s touch.

Haru didn’t say anything. He simply enjoyed the other’s flustered expression while drinking his tea with a hint of a smile on his lips.

 

On Sunday the two of them headed towards the park like the last few times before. It became a routine to meet their new friends every weekend. Sometimes Haru or Kisumi would prepare a big lunch basket with delicious snacks and sweets the group would share after their playtime. 

In contrast to Haru’s first impression the foxboy was a nice guy, in general, if he excluded his loud voice or his all too touchy behavior with Makoto. But he always kept an eye on him and interfered when the other overdid it. Nevertheless he had to admit that the two brothers were a nice change and good friends to the dogboy.

When both of them arrived at the park Makoto’s new friend’s where nowhere to be seen. Uneasily observing the whole playground the dogboy nervously wagged from side to side. 

“Maybe they’ll come a little bit later” said Haru calmly and reassuringly.

Knowing the intention of his human Makoto smiled at him and nodded with floppy ears.

Both noticed a group of three children playing with a ball. When the brunette laid his eyes on them he instantly cheered up. It wasn’t a secret that he liked children and now that his confidence was growing he had enough courage to approach them. Haru watched him with concerned eyes while studying the adults on the bench beside them. It seemed like these adults were their parents. With a slight frown Haru walked towards the bench beside the others and sat down while still watching Makoto out of the corner of his eyes.

With a big smile and sparkling green eyes the dogboy walked cheerfully towards the children. When one of the boys didn’t catch the ball it was rolling slowly right next to his feet. Seeing a possibility to begin a conversation he took the ball in his hands and approached the children.

“Here!” He offered cheerfully with wagging tail. The three boys eyed him suspiciously. Their gazes wandered from his head to his tail and back. The biggest of them frowned and crossed his arms.

“Now we can’t use the ball anymore´” he snarled angrily. The other two followed suit and glared at the surprised dogboy in distaste.

Makoto was used to bad treatment but until now only adults insulted him. Children were nice, they didn’t judge him. They didn’t pay attention to these things…so he believed…

“You can keep it so go away!” shouted the boy at him with his fiercest glare he could manage.

The dogboy was dumbfounded. Never was he treated like this by children. With big eyes he looked at the ball without uttering a word. Maybe he had to try harder? 

With a nervous smile he offered the ball once again. 

The boy looked at him arrogantly and snorted. He punched the ball out of his grip and shouted enraged, “Go away crossbreed!”

In shock Makoto looked at his empty hands and his eyes followed the bouncing ball in silence. Tears began to gather around his eyes but he suppressed them with all his might. With dropped ears he walked over to the ball and picked it up. He remained unmoved for a moment till he saw a flash of black hair in his vision. Without a word Haru was standing by his side with one of the deepest frowns he had ever seen on his face. Then his human took his arm softly but forcefully and dragged him to the other side of the park. Makoto could only stumble helplessly after him, still too shocked by the last encounter. 

 

Finally arriving at the farthest part of the park Haru stopped. Rage was building inside him. When he witnessed how these stupid children treated Makoto his anger grew even more. And then there were the parents of this bunch who talked badly of Makoto without any reason. Just because he was a crossbreed. Just because he was no human. 

He showed them one of his deadliest glares by which the adults became silent within an instant. When he could only see red, he approached the dogboy and dragged him away from these terrible humans. 

Yes, he was angry. 

Angry at the children, their parents, humans, the world. 

 

It was all so unfair and Makoto didn’t deserve any of this. He was one of the nicest persons he knew and it pained him to no end to see how others thought so lowly of him. In this moment many thoughts ran through Haru’s mind but when he noticed the gaze of familiar green eyes on him he looked up.

There stood Makoto with watering eyes and a small fragile smile. Haru could see how he tried his best for him and himself and how he was thanking him silently.

The anger and sadness vanished within an instant. With a soft smile he returned the other’s gaze and laid his hand over his.

Slowly taking the ball out of the other’s hands, he walked a few steps backwards and held the ball up. 

Puzzled Makoto tilted his head to the side till an idea hit him. With a light blush on his cheeks he also walked a few steps backwards and lifted his arms. 

Both began to bandy the ball, first slowly but then with growing speed. After a while Haru could see how the dogboy relaxed and regained his usual cheerful manner. Relieved he watched the other with a soft smile. 

The two of them were interrupted when they heard a loud shout from behind them. Both turned their heads at the same time and were greeted by a wildly waving Kisumi and a more shyly waving Hayato. 

Haru had to suppress his initial frown knowing that the two siblings were Makoto’s new friends. With wagging tail and a bright smile Makoto answered the shout with one of his own while waving. 

 

After a whole afternoon of silly jokes and exciting ball games, Kisumi and Hayato bid their goodbye. Haru and Makoto waved at them till they lost their sight. The human turned to the dogboy and looked at him with gentle blue eyes.

“Yeah, it’s time to go home” said Makoto as if he could read Haru’s mind. Smiling brightly at him the dogboy hesitated for a moment when his eyes fell on their hands. He really wanted to hold hands but they were in public and he didn’t want to bother Haru and there were so many things that spoke against it.

Noticing the quick peek of the other’s eyes his human sighed and grabbed Makoto’s hand nonchalantly. “Don’t hold back” mumbled Haru while turning his face to the other side to evade Makoto’s gaze.

With a shy smile the dogboy nodded once and squeezed the other’s hand.

 

When Haru and Makoto were on their way home, the dogboy suddenly stopped in his tracks. Eying one of the side alleys he observed the shadows with knitted eyebrows. Noticing the other’s reaction his human studied him curiously. 

Makoto slowly approached the dark alley followed by Haru. Both could hear some clanging and cracking which reminded them of something or someone rummaging through trash cans.   
When the two of them finally entered the shadows their eyes became big in surprise. They were greeted by two familiar faces they had already seen a long time ago.

 

“Haru why the hell are you calling so late?! It better be serious, you understand?” complained Rin tiredly over the phone.

“Rin” said Haru calmly but with a slight hint of nervousness in his voice. “I found someone.”

With a frown the redhead stared at his phone. “What?”

“I found 2 crossbreeds outside…we already met…”

“YOU WHAT?” asked Rin in disbelieve.

 

 

 

 

“Rei-chan!”

 

“What do you want Nagisa-kun, I’m busy.” The blue haired dogboy was sitting on the table while folding neatly washed clothes.

“My family will visit us tomorrow! And we need to clean everything otherwise my mom will complain!” whined the blonde and shook the other’s shoulders.

Adjusting his glasses Rei studied his human. “I already cleaned every room so there shouldn’t be a problem…” he replied calmly.

“But…eh…I well…do you remember this room we don’t use and which I kept locked all the time?”

Lifting one of his eyebrows the dogboy eyed his human suspiciously, “Yes?”

“You see I kind of threw everything I didn’t need into this room and now its full of stuff I don’t want to throw away but keep and I don’t know where to place it and there’s also some old cans with cute motifs on it and …“ rambled the blonde hurriedly while dragging the dogboy towards the unknown room.

When Nagisa opened the door of said room one tiny bit Rei was hit by a scent of used clothes and trash.

Taking a quick peek inside he immediately turned around and stared at Nagisa in shock.

“How…How COULD YOU ESCALATE LIKE THAT?!” screamed the dogboy hysterically.

“I’m sorry Rei-chan but we really need to clean it because my family will sleep over in this guest room” explained the blonde pleadingly.

“HOW SHOULD WE CLEAN THIS MESS?”

“Calm down Rei-chan, we could use a clean up service or we throw the stuff out of the window or we carry the things to other rooms and hide it…”

“Nagisa-kun…” replied the dogboy after calming down. “That’s no solution at all.”

“But it’s a possibility!”

Adjusting his glasses Rei sighed and with solemn eyes he looked at his human. “We have to clean it thoroughly.”

“Seriously?!” whined the blonde exaggerated.

“Yes. And we have…” checking the time he added, “17 hours and 31 minutes. Let’s begin.”

 

And so one of Nagisa’s most exhausting days began.  
Rei was taking the lead of the operation ‘clean the guest room within 17 hours and 31 minutes’. Firstly both entered the dark room while holding their breath. The first task was to enlighten the room fully. The dogboy walked slowly and carefully through the piles of clothes, toys and old packages while pressing his lips tightly together and trying to breathe only when necessary. 

Finally arriving at the window he opened the curtains dramatically. Turning around he couldn’t stop himself from letting his mouth hang open. He knew that Nagisa wasn’t the cleanest person, or organized person…but this was…

Closing his eyes the dogboy took a few deep breaths, ignored the scent of trash around him and opened his eyes again. Checking the clock he counted that 17 and 10 minutes were still left. With arms akimbo he announced dramatically, “Nagisa-kun, fetch the trash bags and brooms!”

“Aye aye Rei-chan!” replied the blonde overly serious while saluting and dashed away.

The dogboy sighed after his human left the entrance. Looking around he could only see work, work, work and trash trash trash…Why did Nagisa-kun want to keep these useless things? Adjusting his glasses he walked through the piles and tried to think of an order and value of the stuff lying around. 

First throwing the obvious trash away, then sorting items with some sort of value out, organize the dirty clothes and toys…

Forging a plan in his mind he waited for the blonde to return, ready for action.

 

After several hours of sorting out Nagisa’s stuff Rei dapped off the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief. He looked over their progress and felt a spark of pride in his chest. Of course the blonde started complaining after a while but the dogboy stayed unmoved. Every time when Nagisa tried to escape or worked slower and slower Rei noticed it instantly and gave him a warning. After several tries the human stopped his effort and began to work honestly. In contrast to the dogboy’s first believe the blonde was able to clean quite well. It was just a problem of turning down his usual laziness. 

Both took trash bag after trash bag outside till it came to sorting out the stuff Nagisa wanted to keep and the things he would throw out. Rei strengthened himself for the fierce battle till an idea hit him. With a tiny smile he cleared his throat and announced, “It’s time for a break Nagisa-kun.”

The human’s head whipped around instantly. Dropping everything he had in his hands he jumped up and exclaimed happily, “YAY!” 

Then he dashed towards the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge in search of something sweet. Grabbing a packet of strawberry milk he opened it hastily and took a few sips.

“Hah! That hit the right spot!” He sighed contently and dropped on the chair.

Rei walked over to one of the kitchen cabinets and extracted a package of Nagisa’s favorite cookies. Placing it on the table he poured cold green tea into his cup.

“Nagisa-kun, you did quite well” he said encouragingly. 

“Awe thank you Rei-chan! And we really made a lot of progress! Did you check the amount of trash bags we carried outside?”

“5 in total” added the dogboy calmly.

“Yes 5 bags! It’s almost over, right?” asked Nagisa with bright pink eyes.

“Well…we have to clean the whole room in general. And then there’s the task of sorting out your stuff…”

“Ah right…” the blonde’s smile dropped. “But I wish I could keep everything. I like the cute pictures on the soda cans and the little figures I got for free after buying 10 packages of strawberry milk and the little – “

“It’s okay Nagisa-kun, I understand your point”, interposed Rei while adjusting his glasses. “But you have to throw something out otherwise your family can’t use the room.”

“I know…I know…” whined the blonde and took another sip of his milk.

Studying his human from the other side of the table the dogboy suppressed his grin. Now was the chance for his plan to take action. Clearing his throat he said almost too casually, “I guess I have to bake a cake for tomorrow…”

Within an instant Nagisa’s eyes became big and with a surprised expression he looked at the blue haired dogboy.

“Really?” he asked hopefully.

“Only if I have enough time after cleaning. I want to make a good impression; after all they are your family.”

“Rei-chan…” Nagisa blushed after hearing the other’s words. That the dogboy would go out of his way and try to make everything perfect for his family…

Jumping out of his seat he run around the table and hugged the other tightly. “I love you Rei-chan!” he exclaimed happily while kissing his cheek.

“N-Nagisa-kun! That’s enough!” complained the dogboy embarrassed. 

When the blonde calmed down he took the other’s cheeks in his hands and enjoyed the flustered expression on Rei’s face.

Closing his eyes he kissed the dogboy lightly on his lips. When he opened his eyes again he was greeted with a fully flushed Rei and big lavender eyes.

Grinning wickedly he stroked one of the cheeks lightly and was pleased with the resulting shiver.

“Come on Rei-chan, we have to continue. Otherwise I won’t get to eat cake tomorrow, right?” said Nagisa seductively and left the flustered dogboy alone.

Rei hid his face behind his hands in shock. This didn’t work out the way he imagined it. He thought that his human would immediately return to the cleaning duty and it would have been easier to throw things out but getting kissed wasn’t something he had considered…

 

Hearing a crash from the other side of the room Rei’s ears twitched. 

With a frown and worry filling his mind he rushed after Nagisa. Studying the scene before his eyes he had to snicker. Nagisa was buried under a pile of clothes and toys, only a few strains of blonde hair and his feet peeking out. Crawling out of the mess the blonde took a big breath and sighed.

“Wow I didn’t think that the pile would crash on me”. 

Noticing the dogboy’s muffled laugh he brightened up and grinned. “Hehe, I guess I have to throw something out, don’t I?”

Rubbing the back of his head he began to laugh too.

 

After several little bickers and 5 more trash bags the floor of the room wasn’t covered in clothes, toys and trash anymore. Actually it looked quite representable if Rei let his view wander. There was a double bed, a cupboard and a table with two seat cushions.   
Dropping exhausted on the floor, he lay down beside his human who was catching his breath.

“We did it Rei-chan…” he mumbled tiredly.

“Mhm. And we didn’t even need 17 hours and 31 minutes…” Checking the time he continued, “Only 10 hours and 17 minutes…”

“I’m tired…” whined the blonde beside him. “And sweaty…let’s bathe and sleep.” Taking the dogboy’s hand Nagisa stood up and led him to the bathroom.

“W-Wait Nagisa-kun you can bathe first. I can wait!” He replied flustered, the blush on his cheeks increasing with every passing second.

“Silly Rei-chan if we bath together it’s faster and more fun, right?” 

Noticing the mischievous glint in the other’s pink eyes Rei swallowed hard. Reluctantly following after his human his complains were ignored completely.


	21. Side Story - First Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers!  
> I had finally some time to finish the new chapter earlier than usual o(^∀^*)o  
> As you can see it's kind of a side story/ interlude to the main story and about the new upcoming pairing ヾ(*ゝω・*)ﾉ  
> Next chapter will be the big meeting and a lot of jealousy and emotions and stuff so stay tuned ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆   
> Thanks for all your comments and kudos! I'm so glad that you enjoy this story and please enjoy the new chapter, see you next time (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

“Hey hey Ai! Do you think somebody will take us today? Maybe there will be a really cute girl with long hair and pretty eyes! Man I really want to have a cute girl as owner…” blabbered Momo with shining eyes while wagging excitedly with his tail. Peeking at the orange haired dogboy beside him Ai sighed and closed his eyes.

“I don’t think that somebody will come today” replied the silver haired catboy depressed and let his head hang. 

He really had hoped that the human with red eyes and hair like fire would choose him but instead one of the dogboy’s was lucky enough to leave this place. He tried to be happy for the other but it was just so hard especially when he had the feeling that he would have really liked this human.

Watching Momo bouncing around while talking about his ideals and dreams was a nice view nevertheless he felt a hint of sadness at the same time because in contrast to his friend he was realistic. He knew that they weren’t lucky enough to get an understanding owner. Only a handful of crossbreeds were blessed with this kind and he never actually met a fellow crossbreed with this luck. There were only rumors wandering around like fairytales, a friend of a friend heard that and so on…

Grabbing his silver tail the catboy lost himself in his own pessimistic thoughts.

Momo peeked from time to time at the other, noticing that his friend stopped listening to him and began to frown deeply. He already knew what was happening inside him and what would happen in a few minutes if he wouldn’t break through the doom loop. Seeing Ai cry was one of the saddest things he witnessed and it always broke his heart to see this fragile catboy broken therefore he tried to evade this at all costs. He tackled his friend with all his might and hugged him tightly.

“Ai-chi! Don’t be sad I’m right beside you! We will leave this place together!” exclaimed the dogboy encouragingly. 

Shocked and overwhelmed by the sudden body contact Ai tried to free himself from the dogboy. “Momo-kun, stop it! You know I don’t like this!” He complained in embarrassment.

After a few moments he released the catboy and grinned at his friend with wagging tail and a broad smile. “But you do like it!”

Feeling the blush on his cheeks Ai stuttered “I-I don’t!” and smacked the other’s forehead. Then he walked over to the other corner while ignoring the dogboy’s whining.

Even if Momo was stupid sometimes, there were also times when Ai was glad that he had him by his side and this was one of those times. He could already feel how the depression and sadness vanished from his mind and heart. Peeking at the dogboy he didn’t notice the small smile on his face. When light blue eyes met golden ones the other began his blabbering again, telling him stories from far away countries he had heard from his previous owner and the dreams he had dreamt the other nights.

 

“Ne Ai, can I have your meat?” asked the orange haired dogboy with pleading eyes while a drop of drool left the corner of his mouth. Staring at the desired meat he didn’t even lift his gaze when he asked.

“No Momo-kun. Everybody got one piece and you already ate yours.” The catboy explained patiently while eying his friend.

“But I’m still hungry” whined the other.

“Then eat your vegetables” replied the catboy coolly.

“Please Ai-chiiiiiii!” whined Momo while pulling on the other’s sleeve.

Ai had a weak spot for pleading especially when his friend used these big puppy eyes on him. Clearing his throat audibly he announced with a sight, “Fine”. 

When the dogboy heard his words he began to smile broadly and with wagging tail he jumped at the catboy and hugged him.

“Thank you!” he shouted and devoured the slice of meat without even chewing.

Ai watched him with a blank expression. …Glutton…

 

“When was the last time humans visited us?”

“I think it was weeks ago.”

“Seems like we aren’t interesting enough anymore.”

“Well most of them want new ones…”

 

Ai listened to the other’s talk and dropped his ears. It was true humans didn’t visit the crossbreed animal shelter very often and since the last visit weeks had already past without seeing a new face. He counted the days till the next announcement. 13 days left…

The silver haired catboy shivered by the thought. The choice was randomly and he couldn’t make out a system they used. He really didn’t want to witness it again. With sad eyes he looked at the closed door and sighed. He hoped so much that Momo and he would be safe this time but he didn’t want to sacrifice the others too, nobody should die…It was just too cruel…Hugging himself he closed his eyes. Nobody cared about what he wished for or what the others wished for, they were just crossbreeds, disposable at any time. 

After 13 days the humans would come without notice and drag somebody out of the room without saying a word. They ignored the pleading and crying, and if you tried to escape they would stun you. He had already witnessed this scene far too often and every time he closed his eyes and tried not to cry. Then the room would be quiet for the next hours, all the crossbreeds shocked and numb because of their shown powerlessness. Yes, there was one time one of them tried to help his friend but the consequences were far too scary. He got dragged away too as a result and in the end both died without changing anything. To prevent further disobedience the humans had shown them pictures of their dead bodies. Some tried to close their eyes but the humans would open them with force so everybody knew what the consequences for disobedience were. After they left some broke down, some cried till the next day and some vomited. During the whole scene Momo had hugged him tightly while shivering himself. It was one of those times that Ai saw the other’s angry expression. Normally Momo was cheerful and nice but this time he was pressing is lips so tightly together that his flesh tore. His golden eyes became a shade darker and the deep frown on his forehead didn’t match his usual happy expression. It worried him to no end that even his friend was disturbed to the core.

 

Ai shivered again when he remembered this terrible incident and hugged himself. He wanted to leave this place so much but what then? Even if they would be able to leave there was nothing waiting for them outside. They were crossbreeds, animals without owners. Of course they would be hunted down or fight with hunger and cold without a roof over their heads. They would die nonetheless, sooner or later…

The catboy didn’t notice when his friend crawled beside him as silently as possible.

“Hey Ai”, whispered Momo and poked the other’s side.

Ai frowned suspiciously at him waiting for the dogboy to continue.

“The door is open” he finished solemnly while peeking at the said door.

Surprised light blue eyes were looking at him. He had caught his attention. Grinning broadly he explained, “I listen every time when the human who gives us food comes and takes the dishes away but today I didn’t hear the clang of the lock when he left.”

Ai blinked a few times till understanding hit him. Then he asked with trembling lips, “You serious?” 

“Yes! Let’s go!” And within an instant the dogboy stood up and almost dashed right towards the door but the catboy was fast enough to hold him back.

“Wait Momo-kun. Where do we go?” He asked fearfully. 

With an innocent expression the other replied, “Outside of course.”

“O-O-Outside?! Are you insane?! What if someone finds us?! We will get punished! And they even kill us because of our disobedience…” With a deep frown he looked at the floor while he dropped his ears.

“Don’t worry Ai-chi! We won’t get caught because I know the way outside! It’s still in my head!” He announced victoriously while pointing at his head.

“Ah…but what IF we get outside, there’s no place for us. We don’t have a home or food…” 

On the one hand he really wanted to leave this place but he was afraid of the consequences and future.

The dogboy tilted his head from side to side and replied, “We will find food, our noses are good and we can sleep anywhere we want, right?”

Ai sighed after hearing this innocent answer. He was too carefree and he asked himself if his friend even understood what the problem in general was. 

As impulsive and energetic as ever Momo didn’t wait for the other’s answer and grabbed the catboy’s hand. Running towards the door he slowly opened it and peeked through a little gap. Ai was still too overwhelmed by the sudden development. With big blue eyes he watched the other speechlessly. 

When Momo saw that everything was free he dragged his friend along. Ai’s heart almost stopped. He held his breath while running through corridors and corridors without visible end, too afraid that this one breath he would take would alarm the humans. On the other side the dogboy ran along a hidden path unknown to him with such precision that his friend asked himself in surprise how Momo was able to remember the way outside when he walked it only once in his life.

 

Finally when both took the last corner sunshine was waiting for them on the other end.   
Both stopped immediately when they saw the rays of light through the glassy doors. It had been months till the last time both saw sunlight and it was so beautiful and bright that they were overwhelmed by it. They even had to blink a few times to adjust their eyes to the forgotten brightness.

After a few moments Ai noticed a big desk at the entrance with several monitors and a human sitting behind it. Fear filled his mind because there was no way around it. The only possible way was walking right before it and this would be the end of their escape. There was no way this human wouldn’t notice them and then they would be caught and die a terrible death. His little fragile hope was crushed in this instant. The silver haired catboy began to shiver while imagining the upcoming events.

Momo followed his gaze and frowned. 

How could they get past this human without being exposed? 

Looking at himself Momo cerebrated while crossing his arms. He hadn’t seen this human till now so it was possible that he didn’t know them either. And if that was the case then there were only two things that would betray the both of them for being crossbreeds: Their ears and tails. 

Pressing his tail between his bud cheeks the dogboy suppressed the uncomfortable feeling. Ruffling his hair he tried his best to press his ears against his head as strong as possible. Studying his reflection on the polished stone ground he frowned. The ears were still visible if you knew it. Biting his lip in concentration he finally licked the palms of his hands and tried to adjust his hair so it would hide his secret. 

Ai didn’t notice the dogboy’s action still too focused on their nearing death. Only when he felt hands running through his hair did he look up. Studying the unusual serious expression on Momo’s face he watched the other’s action. Taking a sniff he screwed up his nose in distaste.

“What are you doing Momo?!” whispered the catboy angrily while trying to stop the dogboy’s hands.

“I have a plan, so bear with it” replied his friend hurriedly. “And try to hide your tail.” Studying the catboy’s stature he added “wrap it around your waist and hid it under your shirt. That will work.”

Ai frowned but did as he was told. Momo eyed the both of them critically till he finally nodded once. Taking the other’s hand he walked unerringly towards the reception while the catboy looked at him in terror. Holding his breath he closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

 

The receptionist only peeked at them from the corner of his eyes for a brief second because he was far too busy with playing a game on his cellphone. Seeing nothing conspicuous he returned his full attention to the little screen. There had never been an incident till now and the security inside was so tight that he relied on this out of experience. 

It was almost comical how easy it was to leave the building. When both exited the front door they began to run as fast as they could. They didn’t know where they were running to but it didn’t matter. Humans looked at the passing boys in astonishment but nobody paid much attention when they had passed because Tokyo was a big city and from time to time somebody had to run to catch the subway or be punctual for a meeting. So it wasn’t something out of the ordinary. 

After a few minutes they stopped at a side alley behind a building block. Catching their breath Ai and Momo collapsed on the ground completely exhausted, surrounded by trash cans and plastic bags. 

The catboy studied the dogboy beside him in awe and surprise. He couldn’t believe what they had done and that Momo kept his promise. They had really left the animal shelter and were outside. Free…

On the other hand his friend grinned brightly at him and said between his breaths, “I…told…you…we…would make…it…”

Smiling softly, Ai looked at his lap and whispered, “Yeah…”

When the adrenaline left his system the catboy was tortured by a sudden realization and upcoming questions. They were free, but what now? Where were they? They didn’t have a home, they didn’t have food, and they didn’t have money so how should they survive?

With a deep frown on his forehead he tried to figure out solutions till Momo’s voice reached his ears.

“Don’t worry Ai-chi I’ll take care of everything!” He announced confidently while pointing his thumb at himself.

The catboy gaped. After everything they went through Momo was still as cheerful and sure of himself as ever. 

Closing his eyes for a moment he took a deep breath and replied with shining eyes, “Yes, we will make it!”

“Right Ai-chi!” The dogboy hugged the other tightly and this time Ai didn’t protest.

 

In the first week both moved constantly from one hiding place to another afraid that the humans might find them. Of course they searched for them in order to reestablish obedience and eradicate the root of disturbance. Even if the catboy was sometimes too fearful and almost paranoid this time his trait became handy. 

In contrast to the dogboy Ai listened to the human’s talk whenever he had the chance to. So he paid attention to every little word and piece of information. Therefore every time he heard something about weird people in black clothes he immediately bugged Momo to change locations. 

Over time his friend learned that it was better to listen to him and to follow his request because there was one time he didn’t and due to that their escape was only barely possible. 

The memory was still so vividly in his mind that he shuddered every time he remembered it.

 

Crouching in the farthest corner of the back alley, hidden behind trash cans Ai and Momo stopped breathing. They could hear the footsteps coming nearer and nearer with every step. Closing their eyes the two of them prayed that the humans wouldn’t find them. Ai had to suppress his screaming when he saw the foot right before his eyes on the ground. Holding his two hands before his mouth he could feel the upcoming tears in the corner of his eyes. He looked at his friend for help who was also as quiet and still as possible. The fear in his eyes reflected his own. With all his might his suppressed his shivering. Already feeling the collars around their necks the human foot finally left their view after several moments of silence. After their encounter they didn’t dare to move for ten minutes, still too scared of being found out. 

Momo was the first one to move his head just a bit so he could peek outside. Seeing nothing besides trash cans and plastic packages he carefully left their hiding place in slow motion, ready to hide again if something was disturbing him. When he finally stood outside and stretched his arms and legs in exhaustion he motioned Ai to come out too. The catboy followed suit with big eyes and straight ears observing the entry of the back alley attentively. 

Both sighed relieved after checking the silence for several minutes. Collapsing on the cold ground Ai poked Momo’s side with a big frown on his face.

“Next time you listen to me, okay?!” He whispered angrily. 

The dogboy only gulped and nodded.   
Both knew that this was far too close to being caught. The consequences were still imprinted in their minds and from now on Momo listened to Ai without questioning his decisions concerning their safety.

Luckily this was the only time they encountered the humans and after another week the catboy didn’t pick up any traces of their ongoing search or presence. Of course they stayed alarmed the whole time but it seemed that they had stopped looking for them. Maybe they thought that they had already left the city or died along the way. On the other hand it didn’t really matter. At least they could relax a bit.

 

Being with Momo alone outside without any others he could rely on Ai learned a lot about himself and his friend. Firstly the orange haired dogboy didn’t care so much about hygiene as he did. Especially the body odor let his nose screw up and he tried to wash himself as frequently as possible, particularly when it rained and sometimes he had no other choice but to lick himself clean. Momo on the other hand washed himself if he had the possibility but if he didn’t have to do it, he wouldn’t do it. The most irritating thing about the whole topic was for Ai that one day his friend said while he cleaned himself,

“Actually I like your body smell. Your scent is like…sweet and familiar and I really like it.”

Surprised he looked at his friend and noticed a glint in his eyes he hadn’t seen till now. 

 

Ai had no other choice but to accept the harsh life on the street. 

When time passed and the weather became colder the rain was sometimes far too cold for washing himself therefore he traded the expectation of being clean for a warm place to lie down. Especially Momo had no problem with coldness. Somehow his body produced so much warmth that the other took advantage of it and enjoyed the comfortable feeling while lying beside him. 

 

Secondly the silver haired catboy learned that not everything in the trash was inedible. He was rather surprised when Momo fished a half eaten sandwich and an almost full package of noodles out of the trash can. At first he couldn’t eat it because the mere thought of eating something others had thrown away was so disgusting that he refused it. 

But when his hunger was strong enough and he couldn’t think of anything else but food he tried the leftovers the dogboy had kept for him. With big eyes he studied the little plastic box in his hands while chewing the food. It didn’t taste bad, actually it tasted pretty good. Noticing the big grin on his friend’s face he couldn’t stop himself from grinning too. 

It was far more challenging to find something to drink. Normally they would only find empty bottles or packages, sometimes with a little sip left. Still it wasn’t enough for the both of them. When it was night and the street lights began to light up the two of them sneaked around the neighborhood. They had switched the back alleys a few times for more chances of finding food and water but still weren’t as successful as they wished to. So they wandered around in search of the desired liquid. After a few more turns Momo stopped in his tracks and sniffed at the air.

“I think I smell water” he whispered with closed eyes. 

Hearing the words Ai followed suit and blinked a few times. “You’re right I smell it too…”

Still holding his nose up in the air the dogboy slowly walked across the street to the other side. The catboy followed him closely still afraid of being noticed by humans. Sometimes drunken people would cross their path, far too occupied with themselves to notice the two crossbreeds. Still the danger was always present and real…

Walking around the next corner both stopped in their tracks. Before them was a big park with a playground and a fountain in the middle of the place surrounded by benches. For a brief moment both gazes met and within an instant they ran to the fountain. Drinking hungrily the cold water they sighed contently after they finished.

“Man that was really good” whispered Momo exhausted. In contrast to Ai his tolerance wasn’t quite as good. 

“Maybe we should stay near it, so we can drink every night…” whispered the catboy thoughtfully while eying the fountain. 

“Yeah good idea!” exclaimed his friend enthusiastically. “Now we only need to find a good trash can with enough food and we can live here for weeks!” The dogboy stretched his arms to the air and grinned widely. The expectation was just too good to be true.

“Mhm” nodded the other with a smile.

A few blocks away from the park protected by trash cans and plastic bags Ai lay down beside his friend on the ground and curled himself up. Closing his eyes he let his mind wander. At first he didn’t think that they would make it but they did and quite well in his opinion. He was proud of himself and of the dogboy beside him. He wouldn’t openly admit it out of fear that his friend might crush him in a bear hug but without Momo he wouldn’t be here. 

Free. 

He really appreciated his presence, always cheerful, sometimes too naïve but without him he would feel lonely and lost. Opening his eyes a little bit he studied the other's relaxed feature.  
And sometimes when the night was especially cold and unforgiving like today Ai would snuggle a little bit closer to the dogboy enjoying the warmth he was emitting. Then Momo would put his arms around the other without saying a word. Yes, sometimes he could be really sensitive and caring and Ai knew that he came to like Momo. With their life on the street they grew quite close having only each other, trusting only each other.  
With closed eyes he took a shy sniff at the orange hair and smiled softly when the familiar scent hit him. Sighing contently he thought about their new life and the most important thing:

They were free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested in more stories/moments about their street life please let me know then I will mention more about it ヾ(*ゝω・*)ﾉ


	22. First home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! I'm so sorry that the new chapter took so long ~.~ I hope you will like it! I'll try to update more frequently especially since the next chapters will be funny and fluffy (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧  
> Thanks for staying with this series I'm so happy that you still like it so much as I do *(*´∀｀*)☆   
> Please enjoy the new chapter and let me know your thoughts! See you ~ヾ(＾∇＾)

Makoto’s nose twitched when a familiar scent hit his nose. He instinctively turned his head towards his new interest and took another few curious sniffs. 

After recognizing the scent he lifted his eyebrows in surprise and stopped in his tracks. He finally remembered where he smelled this scent before and it was just so unbelievable that he doubted his nose for a moment. But his nose was never wrong and he could count on it when it mattered so it had to be… 

Noticing blue curious eyes on him he looked at his human and smiled softly. His little hope was so fragile and unreal that he didn’t dare to believe in it nevertheless he had to follow it otherwise he would regret it so he told Haru silently to follow him. 

Lifting one of his eyebrows while studying the brunette dogboy for a brief moment he finally nodded and went after him. 

Taking sniff after sniff Makoto followed his nose like he used to when he tracked somebody down. Closing his eyes he walked right to the back alley without wavering. One good thing was that with closed eyes he wasn’t afraid of the dancing shadows and dark walls around him. 

He had to concentrate because other strong scents overlapped his important one even more. Trash and dirt really smelled badly and the dogboy screwed up his nose. When he felt the light touch of his human on his shoulder he opened his eyes again. Haru was looking out for him so he wouldn’t hurt himself by stumbling over trash bags. Observing his surroundings he noticed the trash cans and dirty bags at the other side of the alley. It was such a huge pile that Makoto looked at it in distaste. The smell was even worse especially with his good nose. Even Haru had to keep his nose shut and with a frown on his forehead he observed the pile.

Listening attentively the dogboy could hear someone moving behind this mountain of trash. With big eyes he tried to make out the source of noise but wasn’t successful. Swallowing hard, with dropped ears and tail between his legs he anxiously took one step after the other towards the pile of trash followed closely by Haru.

Feeling his human’s protective presence right beside him he sighed shakily and gulped audibly. He wanted to be as brave as Haru. He wanted to protect Haru too so he needed to be brave! 

With new determination he walked around the pile of trash and stopped immediately when he saw strains of silver hair peeking out of the trash bags. Tilting his head to the other side in question he inspected the silver fur curiously. Then the familiar scent hit his nose and his tail began to wag uncontrollably. 

Shaking in excitement and anxiety he asked softly,

“A-A-Ai?”

Holding his breath he waited for an answer. The silver tail moved for a brief moment. Then he heard some ruffling and two light blue eyes looked at him in surprise.

“M-M-Makoto?!”

“WAIT MAKOTO IS HERE?!” screamed another voice from the other side of the trash pile and within an instant a dirty orange haired dogboy looked at the both of them with shining golden eyes. With wildly wagging tail he jumped at the other dogboy and exclaimed happily, 

“Makoto! Makoto! It’s so nice to see you again! What are you doing here?”

Blabbering rapidly without waiting for an answer he hugged his friend tightly. Haru studied the new acquaintance with slightly raised eyebrows. The dogboy seemed somehow familiar, someone he had already seen somewhere before…but where? And how did he know Makoto? And did he notice that he smelled terribly?

Switching his attention to the new source of noise he looked at a familiar silver haired catboy. His eyes grew a fraction wider when he recognized him. It was the one Rin almost took with him. With big eyes he finally put the puzzle pieces together. Of course the others didn’t notice his understanding because they were still too preoccupied with their reunion.

Light blue watery eyes were glued to the two dogboys and within an instant the catboy hugged the others tightly.

“I’m so glad to see you again Makoto-senpai! I thought we would never see our friends again!” 

Little tears dropped on Makoto’s shoulder and he had to stop himself from crying too. It was just too unreal to see the others again after all this time. He already was grateful enough to have Sousuke by his side and now seeing Momo and Ai again was just so much, too good to be true that he still couldn’t believe it. Even when he felt the warmth of their bodies, smelled the trash surrounding them or heard their excited voices.

After several moments of relieved sobs and happy chuckling Makoto took a step back and ruffled their hairs. 

“I’m so glad that you both are fine! How did you make it outside? Where are your humans?”

For a moment the two of them looked at each other till Momo exclaimed proudly,

“We don’t have humans! We escaped!”

Tilting his head to the other side Makoto’s eyes grew big. “You…escaped?!”

“Yeah we escaped like real ninjas, sneaking, running, hiding… And they didn’t see us because we were like shadows” the other explained while mimicking some hiding gestures.

“It’s true Makoto-senpai.” Ai added with bright eyes and nodded.

“Wow…that’s…unbelievable…that’s…wow…and now you’re living…here?” asked the brown haired dogboy while looking around.

“Yeah, we change our locations from time to time to stay safe” replied the other dogboy while rubbing his head. “Oh and by the way, who is this human?” asked Momo curiously and inspected Haru closer. “He smells nice…like fish…” he added while taking a few sniffs at him.

“Oh I’m sorry! I almost forgot. This is Haru, my human and owner” explained Makoto proudly with a broad smile on his face.

“Wow…” mumbled Momo and studied the blue eyed human even closer. 

“Hey Momo don’t be rude!” Makoto warned the other dogboy when there were only a few inches between them.

“Let me look at him! He’s so pretty! Oh! Oh! I’m Momo! My most favorite meal is meat and I like beetles!” he introduced himself while grinning from ear to ear.

Taking a step forward Ai looked shyly at the human and whispered, “Hello, I’m Ai. Nice to meet you Haru-sama.”

“No –sama. Nice to meet you too. Momo. Ai.” Haru replied with a soft smile.

“O-Okay Haru!” replied the catboy flustered. Normally every human was pleased with his greeting but this one was rather annoyed by it…did he do something wrong? Did he mess up?

“No need to be so formal Ai. Haru doesn’t care about this stuff.” Ai looked up and blinked a few times. This was the first time that he didn’t have to call humans differently than fellow crossbreeds. 

“He’s the best and kindest human I know” added Makoto with a broad smile while looking at his human lovingly.

Haru blushed lightly and turned his face in embarrassment away. 

“Let’s go home” mumbled his human grumpily and walked towards the main road they took previously.

“Ah but Haru. Wait for me! I’m sorry, see you later Momo, Ai!”

Stopping in his tracks Haru looked over his shoulder and said firmly, “They’ll come with us.”

Three pairs of big eyes studied him in surprise. He suppressed a chuckle when understanding finally dawned on the other’s faces. With big smiles and wagging tails the crossbreeds walked hurriedly over to him and showered him in praises like ‘thanks’ Thank you’ and ‘you’re the best’. Haru would have to lie if he said that he didn’t enjoy the praises, nevertheless he didn’t feel like he did something special. He simply helped friends in need.

 

When the four of them arrived at Haru’s apartment the human lead the crossbreeds right to the bathroom without another word. “Bath” was the only thing he said.

“But clothes Haru?” asked Makoto unsurely. 

“I’ll prepare it when you’re in the bath. You stink. All of you.”

The crossbreeds looked at each other and took an experimental sniff. Screwing up their noses they nodded solemnly and changed immediately without uttering another word.

 

“Ah…this is my first bath and…it’s like…heaven…” Momo sighed contently. With closed eyes he leaned back at one side of the bathtub and relaxed. 

Makoto chuckled while entering the hot bath. He took the other side, opposite to his friend so both had enough space for themselves. Actually he really didn’t need to pay attention to the space because Haru’s bathtub was especially large in comparison to normal sized ones nevertheless he tried to make the others as comfortable as possible. 

When he noticed that the third crossbreed was missing he looked around in worry and finally found the catboy standing at the closed door and staring at the bath water with big scared eyes.

“Ai, what’s wrong?” asked the dogboy concerned.

Surprised the other looked at him while shivering and replied flustered, “Eh well…I don’t…really like taking baths…” 

Tilting his head to the other side Makoto cerebrated. Did something bad happen in Ai’s past concerning baths or was it simply his feline side that deterred him from entering the bath?

“You don’t have to be afraid. Momo and I are by your side.” His friend answered reassuringly while offering his hand with a smile.

The catboy straightened himself when he looked into gentle green eyes. 

“O-o-okay”, he stuttered and walked slowly forward.

Eying the water critically he took the offered hand. With dropped ears and quivering tail he raised his right foot and touched the warm water experimentally with his toes. Blinking a few times he submerged his whole leg with curious light blue eyes. 

The water felt so nice because of his tired muscles that he couldn’t quite believe it. After hitting the bottom his left leg followed shortly after and carefully he took his place beside the brown haired dogboy who had watched him the whole time. With a bright smile he greeted his friend and the other replied with a big smile of his own. 

When Ai finally calmed down Momo approached the catboy with a sly grin. 

“Ai-chi…”

The other slightly frowned because every time the orange haired dogboy talked to him like this he always planed something stupid or mischievous. 

“Yes Momo-kun?”

The dogboy’s grin grew wider and wider till he suddenly shouted “Water fight!” And within the next second Ai was hit by a splash of water. 

With an annoyed expression he huffed a few times and complained “MOMO!” But nevertheless he began to return the splash attacks eagerly. 

 

Over time the battle escalated and Makoto’s warnings met deaf ears. Ai and Momo were so absorbed in their play that both didn’t notice their growing splash range. When the catboy tried to hide behind his friend the brown haired dogboy was hit by a big splash of water right in the face. 

Momo looked at the other in shock. He didn’t mean to hit Makoto. Tracing every drop of water running down the other’s chin he gulped. Ai tried to make out his protector’s expression but the dogboy’s face was hidden behind his bangs. He slowly crawled to Momo’s side while peeking helplessly at the other.

Both knew that when Makoto was angry he was one of the scariest crossbreeds they knew and they didn’t want to make him angry especially because it was thanks to him that both were now enjoying the bath. So they held their breath while waiting for any reaction of their friend. 

On the other side Makoto was surprised that he got right into the splash fight but he really didn’t mind. Actually it seemed really fun but he was afraid of making a mess out of Haru’s bathroom. He was big, and clutzy, and he didn’t want to disturb the play of his friends. But now he had no other choice but to play along, right? So he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Trying to suppress the grin on his face Makoto lashed out and attacked the other crossbreeds with a big splash. 

Momo and Ai looked at him flabbergasted. Studying their faces Makoto began to laugh loudly and after a few moments the others joined too. 

 

While preparing a meal for everybody Haru thought about Ai’s and Momo’s future, like where they could live from now on, or who would take care of them in the future. He was thinking about asking them to live with him and Makoto but on the other hand their flat was too small for the four of them. His flat wasn’t the biggest and even if he could afford to buy a bigger one there was nothing available at the moment. Flats in Tokyo, especially in his neighborhood were rarely free and nobody left them voluntary. Maybe Rin could help him, he knew more people and was more familiar with the city and he still had to talk to him because he would hear the news sooner or later. Nevertheless he didn’t really want to deal with the redhead’s outburst. Sometimes Rin was too loud and too fired up. Annoying.

Sighing Haru stirred the miso soup before him. When he heard muffled laughing from the direction of the bathroom he smiled softly. Yes it was quite livelier than before but he didn’t really dislike it, especially since Makoto seemed to enjoy it.

 

Finally finishing setting the table Haru looked proudly at the different dishes and especially at the big plate covered in mackerel pieces. Noticing multiple approaching footsteps he turned his attention to the arriving crossbreeds.

When Momo laid his eyes on the dining table he gaped. “WOW that looks delicious!” he exclaimed in awe and hurriedly took a seat. Sniffing at the meat and fish his mouth began to water.

“Thank you Haru, it looks really delicious” said Makoto while taking his seat and smiled at his human. 

Haru turned embarrassed his face away and mumbled something unintelligible. 

Ai bowed lowly while saying, “Thank you Haru-sam- I mean Haru-san for this meal.” Then he took his seat as quietly as possible.

“You don’t have to bow to me” replied Haru softly. “Now let’s enjoy our meal.”

When Momo finally heard the magical words he stuffed his mouth full of meat and sighed contently.

“Shatsh so yummy!” he said while chewing on his bites.

“Momo behave!” lectured the catboy beside him but couldn’t suppress a soft moan on his own. Both had never eaten something this delicious and if they compared it to the left overs in the trash it was like heaven and hell. 

With a smug smile on his lips Haru sipped at his miso soup and watched the other’s devouring his meal with hunger. Makoto followed his gaze and smiled first at his human and then at his friends. He enjoyed the new company to his fullest, even if it meant that he and Haru wouldn’t be alone for a while. A tiny little part of his heart screamed that the others should leave, that he should be the only one who was near Haru but he didn’t listen to it. It was a new side of him, a new side he developed because of his human. 

When their stomachs were filled and everybody was grunting in satisfaction Haru thought about his next steps while watching Makoto cleaning the dishes. He had to think about a home for the two crossbreeds. They could stay at his flat till they found the right person to keep them but they couldn’t stay for a long time. It wasn’t a matter of money or annoyance it was a matter of space. Right, Rin…he could help…

Haru suddenly stood up and walked over to his phone. 

“I’ll call Rin. “

Makoto looked up and studied curiously his expression. “Mhm.” Of course the dogboy knew that it was only a matter of time till his human informed his best friend of their new roommates. 

“Who’s Rin?” asked Momo curiously while tilting his head to the other side.

Ai looked at the human with big eyes. It couldn’t be, could it? But when he thought about it, he had seen Haru once before, back at the animal shelter he guessed, but he wasn’t quite sure…When he put the puzzle pieces together Ai looked at the human in shock.

“He’s my friend and lives next door. With another crossbreed.” Haru explained while dialing the known number.

“I want to meet him!” exclaimed the dogboy excitedly.

 

“Haru why the hell are you calling so late?! It better be serious, you understand?” complained Rin tiredly over the phone. He was already lying in his bed, ready to fall asleep.

“Rin” said Haru calmly but with a slight hint of nervousness in his voice. How should he put it? “I found someone.”

With a frown the redhead stared at his phone. “What?”

“I found 2 crossbreeds outside …”

“Wait…YOU WHAT?” asked Rin in disbelieve. Crossbreeds weren’t exactly the things you found right around the corner. 

“It’s a catboy and dogboy from the animal shelter.”

“Wait…How did you find them?! And what do you mean ‘from the animal shelter’?”

“Come over. Then you’ll see.” And Haru nonchalantly didn’t wait for the other’s response and ended the call. 

With big eyes Rin stared at the black screen. What the hell?! Throwing the phone on his bed he stomped out of his room and called for Sousuke. Tiredly opening the door he looked at his human with sleepy eyes and grunted as response.

“We need to go over to Haru. He called me a second ago and talked about some crossbreeds he found.” The redhead explained while returning to his room. Changing his clothes he hurried the other to do the same too. Sousuke stopped his approaching yawn when he heard the other’s words. Lifting one of his eyebrows he looked at his human in disbelieve. 

“Come on! Change!” commanded Rin while shoving him back into his room without further explanation.

 

After 5 minutes Haru could hear the loud knock on his entrance door. When he opened the door he was greeted by a slightly agitated Rin and a tired Sousuke. Scratching himself behind his head the dogboy followed his owner into the living room with an almost bored expression. 

There sitting on the sofa were the mentioned crossbreeds talking enthusiastically to Makoto who returned their questions with a smile. 

Rin and Sousuke gaped. 

When the orange haired dogboy noticed the two newcomers he jumped on his feet and tackled the black haired dogboy.

“Sousuke-senpai!” he shouted happily while the other studied him in surprise.

“Momo…what are you doing here?” he asked flabbergasted.

“Oh! Oh! We left the animal shelter! We escaped like real ninjas!” He announced proudly while standing straight and rubbing his noise proudly.

Lifting one of his eyebrows Sousuke turned his gaze to the catboy on the sofa. Meeting his light blue eyes the other crossbreed smiled nervously at him. 

“Eh, hello Sousuke-senpai” he greeted politely and stood up to bow. When he noticed the familiar redhead he blushed self-consciously while trying to evade the other’s gaze.

“You’re…you’re this catboy…” ‘I almost took with me’ finished Rin in his mind. With a red face the catboy nodded once and evaded his curious eyes.

“His name is Ai” interfered Haru nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I know…” replied the redhead while rubbing the back of his head. 

This was really unbelievable. Here he was standing in Haru’s living room seeing the catboy he almost took right before his eyes. And no other than Haru found him again. How high were the chances of meeting like this? When the first surprise left his mind he couldn’t help but feel somehow guilty for not picking him back then. It wasn’t like he regretted his choices but he wanted that everybody had a good home especially since he came to know the backside of their lives.

While Sousuke and Rin sat down on the other couch the redhead couldn’t stop himself from staring at the silver haired catboy.   
Sousuke looked attentively at his human. Noticing his red eyes on the catboy he frowned. He knew that Rin had almost picked Ai at the animal shelter back then and yes, somehow he was lucky enough that he was picked in the end. 

Nevertheless uneasiness filled his heart. Now that Ai had reappeared he felt like his position, his place, his home was in danger and he hated himself for being such a jerk.   
Ai was a nice guy, even if he didn’t have so much contact with him back then he had watched him interact with Momo. 

So… Why was he so jealous? Because Ai caught Rin’s attention? Because he was just so different than himself? He, a big grumpy scarred dogboy on the one side and a cute little gentle catboy on the other side. Didn’t he overcome his self hatred? Was he still weak?

Sousuke’s frown deepened every minute he let his mind wander. He was freed from his thoughts when Momo began to tell their story.

 

After hearing their story Rin felt his heart ache. The two crossbreeds needed a home. They needed someone who would take care of them since they have gone through so much trouble. Sniffing a few times he looked at the two crossbreeds with unwavering eyes after making his decision. Regaining his composure he stated calmly and surely,

“We keep them”.

Everybody looked at him in surprise. Noticing all eyes on him he barked “What?! It’s the right thing to do, right?!”

“Mhm” nodded Haru and looked at Makoto who also nodded. He wasn’t surprised about Rin’s announcement because it was just so…Rin…

“Ah but we don’t want to impose on you, we are really grateful that you gave us food and water…” said Ai shyly.

“Nonsense. We take care of you from now on.” 

When the catboy heard the redhead’s words his eyes became big. He couldn’t suppress the growing blush on his cheeks. With a shocked expression he faced Momo and asked silently if this was reality. Seeing how a big smile illuminated his friend’s face he knew that the offer was real. 

With watering eyes he began to smile happily. Overwhelmed by the generosity he answered in a soft tone, “Okay.” 

When Ai gave his answer he was tackled by Momo who began to laugh out of happiness. Then the orange haired dogboy ran around with wagging tail and hugged everybody in the room after another. Of course some were more reluctant than others but everybody accepted it with a smile because seeing the two new friends being genuinely happy made them happy too. 

The only one who watched the whole scene with split emotions was Sousuke. He could see that Rin was somehow attracted to the catboy and he didn’t like it.

Jealousy was scratching at his insides but he suppressed is with all his willpower because the two new crossbreeds didn’t deserve this treatment after their harsh experiences. 

Still…

He peeked at his human and noticed his happy smile and watering eyes. Silently sighing he knew that he had to accept it.

“And where should they live from no on?” He asked calmly.

Haru looked at the two crossbreeds and replied with a shrug, “One to you one to me?”

“But I don’t want to leave Ai-chi!” whined Momo loudly and hugged the catboy dramatically. 

“Momo!” scolded the other flustered but he had to admit that he didn’t want to leave the dogboy either. 

“Then the two can come to us. We have enough space, right Sousuke?” said Rin and peeked at the dogboy. 

With a frown he grunted as response and crossed his arms. He had the feeling that this wasn’t the best idea but he didn’t say anything against it. If Rin wanted to take both in, he would accept it unconditionally. 

“But you don’t have another free room, do you?” asked Haru and lifted one of his eyebrows. 

“Well, no but they can sleep in the living room for now. And we buy two futons tomorrow.” He proposed with a hint of nervousness. Looking around he waited for a response. His mind was running on high speed, trying to find the right solution.

After several seconds of silence he added, “Or…” 

Rin eyed the black haired dogboy beside him. There was another option but he didn’t want to force Sousuke and it was a rather bold proposal…

“Sousuke sleeps with me or the other way around from now on. Then they can use the free room till we find another home for them…”

With a surprised expression Sousuke studied his human. He didn’t expect this and he had to admit that the expectation of sleeping with Rin in the same room send shivers down his spine, even if it meant that the two crossbreeds would invade their space. The mere thought of the other sleeping beside him let his grumpy face relay. It was a nice expectation and it would ease the uneasiness he was feeling because of the catboy’s appearance.

“Hm…” he grunted while obviously weighing the possibilities but deep down he had already made his decision. He tried to prolong his thinking so the others wouldn’t notice his excitement but a pair of green eyes watched him with an almost amused expression. When Sousuke turned his gaze to Makoto, his friend evaded it hastily. Sometimes he cursed Makoto’s ability of reading him so easily. 

Noticing the quick exchange Haru turned his attention to the dogboy beside him and both talked silently. Then Makoto peeked at Sousuke once again but didn’t say a word.

Annoying. 

“Fine.” He finally said. He noticed surprised red eyes on him and returned his human’s searching gaze with a small smile. Of course he did it mainly for Rin and a little bit for him. And when he looked at his two friends who smiled dumbly at him and thanked him wholeheartedly what right did he have to say ‘no’ to this?

“Sousuke, thank you,” replied the redhead almost shyly. 

“It’s fine, don’t sweat it” answered the dogboy with a grin.

“Sousuke-senpai! That’s so cool!” exclaimed Momo excitedly while Ai shyly thanked him with a quiet ‘thank you’.

Makoto and Haru watched the scene with small smiles on their lips.

“If you need anything, please tell us. We are there for you, right Haru?” said the brunette dogboy sweetly.

“Mhm” grunted his human and nodded.

“So who is gonna give up his room?” asked Sousuke curiously.

“I think we can decide it like we usually do. Rock paper scissors!” announced Rin enthusiastically.

With a smirk the black haired dogboy stood up and faced his human.


	23. Halloween Special: First Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers!  
> Somehow the Halloween hype got me and I was so inspired that my head was filled with ideas for these guys （‐＾▽＾‐） This chapter takes place before Ai and Momo arrive. I hope you aren't disappointed that I didn't continue the main story with this one but I wasn't comfortable with forcing these two topics together ＼(;´□｀)/  
> So I hope you still enjoy this chapter, let me know if you want a second part of this 'Special' otherwise the next chapter will continue the main story as usual.  
> Thanks a lot for the lovely comments and kudos, I'm really blessed with you guys (´∀｀)♡

With big eyes Makoto curiously and fearfully studied his surroundings while walking along the walkway. He looked at the shop windows decorated in orange and black colors with spooky faces. Sometimes a ghost or witch would give the decoration its last touches and the brunette dogboy had to stop himself from squeaking in fear. He didn’t know why overnight Tokyo seemed to be more scary and spooky than usual.

Squeezing Haru’s hand just a little bit tighter he turned his face away when the grimaces were too explicit, especially when blood was dripping down from the corner of their mouths.

His human studied the other attentively but didn’t say anything. He had almost forgotten that in contrast to Iwatobi Tokyo did actually celebrate Halloween even if it was a western custom.

“Don’t mind it Makoto. It’s just Halloween. Soon it will be over” explained Haru calmly while frowning at the decorations.

“H-Haru?” asked Makoto 

“Mhm?”

With big green eyes the dogboy looked at his human and asked, “What is Halloween?”

Haru stayed silent for a few moments. Right, Makoto didn’t know what Halloween was about, of cause he couldn’t…

Sighing internally he asked himself why he could be this stupid sometimes. Still he wasn’t that good with explanations therefore he needed a few moments to collect his thoughts.

“It’s a festival the western continent celebrates. Everybody dresses themselves up and children walk from door to door to collect sweets. Over the years it came to Japan too. Back in Iwatobi we only celebrated it once in a while…but here…” Haru looked at his surroundings and frowned again. “Here it’s rather popular.”

Makoto listened attentively while watching Haru’s expressions. Looking at the shop windows again he nodded once and hummed.

“So…do you celebrate it too?” he asked shyly but curiously.

Somehow he really wanted to get to know this festival called Halloween even if it was scary. There were sweets involved and something that has to do with sweets couldn’t be bad, right?

Haru peeked at the dogboy for a brief moment till he faced the front again.

“Maybe…if you want…”

A light blush colored Makoto’s cheeks when he heard the other’s words. With a bright smile he walked at his human’s side and studied the colorful decorations with growing curiosity.

Over time he noticed that witches, ghosts and monsters were quite popular but somehow he couldn’t understand why pumpkins would accompany the ensemble frequently. Frowning thoughtfully he turned to Haru and asked,

“Why are there so many pumpkins?”

“It’s kind of a tradition and specialty for Halloween to celebrate with pumpkins. Most of the people carve silly or scary faces into them.”

Carving? 

Makoto tilted his head to the other side and tried to imagine how something like this would be done.  
With wagging tail he studied the pumpkins even more while his human peeked at him without being noticed.

Inside his mind Haru already made the decision to buy pumpkins this year so both of them could try it out. It had been a while since the last time he carved something but he was confident in his skills.

 

“So…How do we start?” asked Makoto with floppy ears and tilted his head.

“First we have to hollow it out. Take the flesh out with a spoon and put it inside the basket. I’ll cook soup afterwards.”

With a slight frown Makoto looked at the pumpkin before him and took one of the spoons in his hand.  
The good thing was that his human had already cut the pumpkins open so he didn’t have to use a knife right away.

Putting the spoon inside the vegetable he spooned the flesh out with a disgusted expression.

“Somehow…it feels…disgusting…” he mumbled while repeating his action.

“Bear with it” replied Haru who had almost finished his part.

When both pumpkins were ready to be carved the dogboy looked at his result with wagging tail. He knew that now the good part would come. 

“Haru! Can we finally carve it?” he asked excitedly while thinking about possible faces he could use.

“Yeah. You take the knife like this…and then…“ With practiced movements Haru sliced through the pumpkin flesh forming a little triangle. 

“Then you can simply press it inside and take it out…” With a soft ‘plop’ the pumpkin piece fell inside and the human took it out. Showing the other his result he waited for Makoto’s response.

“Wow Haru! That looks so easy when you do it! Let me try it out!” said the dogboy expectantly.

The human handed the knife over and reminded his friend of being careful.

Makoto nodded and with sparkling green eyes took the knife in his hands. Then he tested its edge on the flesh with a little bit pressure. Gaining more confidence he used more power and looked surprised at the pumpkin when the expected cut was just so small in contrast to Haru’s. Therefore he asked himself if there was a special technique the other had used but he had still to acquire.  
With a small frown he tried to cut it again but slipped off the blank skin. With a surprised yelp he took a step back and looked at the pumpkin. Now a big but shallow cut was on the skin and Makoto couldn’t suppress his disappointment.

“Oh no now it’s damaged” whined the dogboy with dropped ears and laid the knife on the table while studying the cut.

“Makoto, stay still…” said Haru beside him and grabbed one if his hands. Makoto looked at his human who studied his hand in worry. Looking at the source of concern he held his breath when he saw thick blood dripping down on the floor. Instead of cutting the pumpkin he had cut himself and now one of his fingers was bleeding continuously. 

Makoto began to panic. He didn’t like blood, especially when he himself was loosing it and now seeing his and Haru’s hand covered in it was just too much for him. 

Feeling nauseous he staggered backwards while pulling his human unwillingly with him. Haru tried to stay his ground but had to follow the dogboy for a few steps.

“Makoto. Makoto! Look at me. Don’t look at your hand. Look at me” commanded his friend sternly. 

Big green eyes met stern blue ones. “It’s fine, just let me put a patch on it. Come on, we need to go to the bathroom.” 

“I-I-I can’t Haru. Blood…Blood is dripping everywhere…I’m gonna…I’m gonna bleed to death…” said the dogboy and shivered by the thought.

“You won’t die, come on” replied Haru and tried to drag the other with him but failed. 

Makoto was so focused on his hand and the blood on the floor that he stood still. 

Sighing the human thought about another way to make the dogboy move. Cleaning the wound was out of the question at the moment and blood was still flooding, so what was the right thing to do?

Lifting the joined hands up to his mouth Haru inspected the torn flesh and experimentally licked over it. When he was a kid he always did this when he cut himself and somehow it really helped cleaning and healing the wound so it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

Eventually he put the injured finger into his mouth and began to suck lightly. Ignoring the winces and surprised yelps of the dogboy he closed his eyes and tried to clean the wound with his tongue as much as possible.   
Lifting his gaze he noticed the bright blush on Makoto’s cheeks that extended to his neck and ears. Big green eyes looked at him in shock unable to comprehend what he was doing. Suppressing a grin Haru intensified the sucking while holding the other’s gaze.

“Haru…” muttered the dogboy with a thick voice. 

The next actions were just a blur in Makoto’s mind. He could only focus on his finger in Haru’s mouth, how his soft tongue was caressing his open wound and how his lips closed just so deliciously around it. 

When Haru finally stopped his sucking he let the finger slip out of his mouth with a ‘pop’ and inspected the wound once more. Makoto had to suppress a frustrated sigh because he already missed the sweet warmth. 

He was just so overwhelmed by his human’s actions that he didn’t notice that the other dragged him into the bathroom, or that Haru was disinfecting his wound and that it burnt, or that the patch was green and had little cat heads on it. No, the only thing he was able to do was staring at Haru’s mouth.

Satisfied with the result Haru sighed relieved and let the other go. Seeing that Makoto wasn’t really paying attention he called him several times till he finally got answer.

“Makoto…”

“Makoto…”

“Makoto!”

The dogboy tilted his head and looked at his human with confused eyes. 

“Did you say something?” he asked dumbfounded.

“I’ll continue from now on, you watch.”

Makoto nodded and followed Haru to the kitchen table. 

 

In the end Haru carved the two pumpkins alone but considered Makoto’s wishes and suggestions.   
The dogboy studied the result with bright eyes and showered the other in compliments. 

“And what do we do with the pumpkins?” asked Makoto curiously.

“Well take them to Rin. To his Halloween party.”

“Halloween party?!” exclaimed the other surprised.

“Mhm, he texted me that Nagisa and Rei wanted to visit us and celebrate.”

“Really?! That’s great!” replied Makoto excited with wagging tail and sparkling green eyes.

“Mh…” mumbled Haru and turned his face the other way.

“I know that you think it’s annoying but it will be fun, especially seeing Nagisa and Rei after such a long time” said Makoto with a broad smile while looking at his human.

Embarrassed Haru mumbled, “Mhm” and resumed cleaning the kitchen. Makoto on the other hand kept on smiling, blushing every now and then when he looked at the patch and reminded himself of Haru’s sweet mouth.

 

 

“No Nagisa, I won’t buy something expensive and stupid like that!” shouted Rin at his phone while walking around the flat.  
Sousuke peeked at him from the corner of his eyes. He was sitting on the sofa watching one of his beloved action movies.

“Yes…okay fine you and Rei can come but I won’t buy a life size monster just for decoration…Yeah I’m inviting Haru and Makoto too…yes…Okay. Fine. See you.”

With a sigh full of exhaustion Rin pressed the end call button and flopped on the sofa right beside Sousuke. Closing his eyes he massaged his temples.

“Nagisa and Rei will be visiting us next weekend. The blonde devil really bugged me to organize a Halloween party and after 10 minutes of begging I finally agreed. Stupid me…”

Sousuke hummed and looked at his human. “So…” Rubbing his neck he turned his face towards the TV and asked softly, “what is Halloween?”

“Huh?” Rin opened his eyes and studied the black haired dogboy beside him who stubbornly kept his eyes on the TV. 

Lifting one of his eyebrows he asked, “You don’t know what Halloween is?”

Sousuke huffed and crossed his arms. He wouldn’t ask so stupidly if he would know.

“Hey no reason to sulk big guy. It’s a festival the western people celebrate. After years it came over to Japan too. People dress themselves up as monsters or fantasy figures and other stuff, they party and little kids run around the block and ask for sweets. Then there are a lot of decorations involving ghosts, witches and stuff. It’s pretty cool and I enjoyed it when I was in Australia.” Rin explained with a soft smile while dwelling in precious childhood memories.

Sousuke studied the changing expressions of the redhead and could only wonder why humans would do something like that. And what exactly did they celebrate? Well in the end it didn’t matter to him he would be content with this answer for now and tomorrow when Rin would go to his training he would search through the internet some more. 

The internet was really convenient in Sousuke’s eyes. Every time he didn’t know something or wanted to try out new recipes he would use Rin’s laptop and explore the depths of the World Wide Web.

“Therefore we have to prepare the flat, okay?” said Rin and looked at Sousuke expectedly.

Cursing inside for not paying attention to the conversation Sousuke nodded once.

“Then you can buy the ingredients tomorrow when I’m gone, the decoration has to wait till I return so we pick the right stuff.”

“Mhm” hummed the dogboy while asking himself what exactly he should buy. Did Rin say something about it? “So…what should I buy exactly?”

“Dude didn’t you listen to me?! I said pumpkins, chips, candies, apples and of course something for a meal like… Pizza or something like that…”

“Hm, so pizza it is?” asked the dogboy with a slight grin because dammit he loved cheesy pizza with meat on it.

“Yeah I guess the others would like it too” replied the redhead thoughtfully.

After that both returned to watching the action movie but Sousuke already imagined the tons of pizza he would bake.

 

Sousuke cursed inside while scanning the shelves with a deep frown on his face. Who would have thought that the supermarket would be crowned so early in the morning and who would have guessed that now exactly on this day was a special offer on frozen fish that every god damned housewife or pensioner would try to get their hands on.

With a sigh the dogboy pushed his cart through the corridors of canned or packed food. He still needed baking powder and flour. Studying the shelves he ignored the critical gazes and whispering of the other people. 

It wasn’t that unusual that crossbreeds would do daily tasks for their owners still most of the people treated them as outsiders, only things that would do like their master commanded. 

Lost in thoughts the dogboy entered the bakery section while looking halfheartedly for his remaining ingredients. After a few moments later he looked around and asked himself how he was able to leave the desired section and entering a new one without noticing. Cursing in frustration he looked out for any sight of direction. Turning his head from left to right and back he could only see elder women walking leisurely through the corridors. 

Sousuke looked at his shoes and sighed. It was still so embarrassing to get fucking lost in a supermarket even if he already visited it with Rin several times. 

Frowning he debated with himself in his mind. There was only one way to get back and he really hated it. Peeking around, he noticed a woman pushing her cart with a little kid sitting on it. Still wearing a frown on his face he turned to the woman and tried to sound as calm and friendly as possible.

“Excuse me madam?” 

The woman looked at him with big eyes. Switching her gaze from her child to the dogboy she increased her grip on the cart.

Waiting patiently for any response Sousuke looked into her eyes. After several seconds of silence he asked himself if he was too quiet, if the woman didn’t understand him so he continued.

“Excuse me madam I need to find the bakery section.”

Still silence. 

Sousuke’s frown deepened but he didn’t want to back off. He wanted to finally leave this fucking stupid supermarket therefore he had to find bakery powder and flour and to find THAT he needed to return to the bakery section.

After a felt eternity the woman finally lifted one of her arms and pointed to the corridor on the left side. Following her gesture the dogboy blinked a few times when understanding hit him. 

He mumbled a soft “Thank you” and returned to his cart. Pushing it to the shown corridor he finally finally sighed in relieve when he saw the shelves full of different kinds of flour, sugar and sugar decorations.

Grabbing the desired ingredients he hastily went to the cashier and joined the long line. Of course they would only open one checkout in the morning when the whole supermarket was crowded.   
Crossing his arms he tipped impatiently with his index finger on his arm. Checking the time he was relieved that he had decided to do the grocery earlier than usual. 

 

When Sousuke finally left the supermarket with arms and hands full of bags and shoppers he sighed relieved. Even if he got easily lost he would still find his way home. Somehow he was proud of his little achievement. He had walked this way several times with his human and he gave him the tip to use his surroundings for help. He knew that after the three trees on the left he had to take the next corner and then when he saw the little hairdresser shop he had to turn left.  
Grinning inside he couldn’t suppress the slight wagging of his tail. Yes only two turns more and then he would be home and finally have his peace.

So he thought.

But when Rin returned home he had to ‘try out different pizza recipes to create the most delicious one’ so his human explained.

“Because they will taste a flavor they never tasted before” announced the redhead proudly with a broad smile.

Sighing the dogboy resigned himself to his fate and put his apron on. Noticing the light blush on his human’s cheeks he grinned widely.

“Hey Rin, do you like my apron?” he asked teasingly while poking the other’s side.

“Stop it! You can be thankful that I chose the right one” snapped Rin back. The dogboy only chuckled and turned his attention to the ingredients on the table. 

The redhead was somehow grateful that Sousuke didn’t continue the bickering because dammit he had a weak spot for this apron but he would never say it out loud even if it would cost his life. So he helped the dogboy to arrange the different pots with flour, bakery powder, oil and warm water.

 

When both finished creating different kinds of dough Rin rolled one after another out on the griddles. Meanwhile Sousuke was cooking the tomato sauce. Using different kinds and amounts of seasoning, he finally finished 5 different test sauces. 

“Let me try it!” exclaimed his human merrily and put his index finger in one of the little bowls. 

“Rin!” barked the dogboy. “Use a fucking spoon if you want to try it!”

“Dude, don’t be so strict. We will use them right away so it’s fine” replied the redhead lazily. 

‘That’s not the issue’ thought Sousuke to himself and shook his head.

When Rin was extending his now clean index finger for the next bowl Sousuke stopped him just a second too late. Lifting the in sauce covered finger to his face he eyed it critically.   
Then an idea stroked him just at the right time. With a playful grin he licked the sauce away and finished his teasing with a light suck on Rin’s finger.

His human blushed in an instant and when the dogboy released his hand he hurriedly pulled it away. 

This was the last time that Rin Matsuoka used his fingers for a taste test, at least when Sousuke was around.

 

“Rei-chan! It’s time! Come on we have to leave!” shouted Nagisa from the other side of his flat with hands full of suitcases.

“Nagisa…Did you even check the time?” asked the blue haired dogboy while lifting his glasses.

“Yes! We are too late!” replied the blonde impatiently.

“You do know that our flight is in 3 hours and we have a taxi ride and check in time of one hour. If we calculate the coincidence like busy traffic with 30 minutes…We have at least a timeframe of one hour and 30 minutes before leaving.”

“But I’m so excited Rei-chan! I can’t wait!” whined the blonde and dropped the suitcases.

“Even IF we leave now, the flight won’t start sooner” said the dogboy while dragging the cases back to the entrance.

“But Rei-chan…” grumbled his human and flopped on the couch. He was really so excited to see his friends again especially when everybody was celebrating Halloween together. It wasn’t as sparkling and colorful as Christmas but Halloween was still fun, particularly scaring people.

“Come on Nagisa, we have to tidy up so everything will be in order when we return” proposed Rei while standing before his human.

“Awe but we already cleaned enough” grumbled the blonde and hid his face behind a cushion.

If you mean the clothes from your wardrobe I ironed with difficulty and now lying all around your room…”

“At least I put them all together!” complained the blonde.

“You built a pile of clothes…on your bed…And now it’s rumpled again” sighed the dogboy. “We have to put them in the wardrobe again and if you won’t help me I’ll continue alone” he finished and turned around.

“No wait Rei-chan! Let’s enjoy ourselves on the couch before we have to take our exhausting journey.” His human proposed with puppy eyes.

The other lifted his eyebrows and eyed the human critically. Meanwhile Nagisa patted the free space beside him inviting Rei to sit with him. With a frown and reluctantly he sat down and mumbled something incomprehensible.

Nagisa on the other hand suddenly hugged his friend and exclaimed merrily, “Come on Rei-chan, don’t be grumpy. We can clean when we return. Instead let’s enjoy ourselves.”

And without further warning he kissed the other’s cheek and grinned broadly. Rei turned his gaze to the human beside him feeling the blush creeping over his cheeks. 

‘N-Nagisa!” he spluttered surprised but didn’t resist the upcoming attack. 

Leaving the dogboy breathless Nagisa checked the time and stood abruptly up. “We have to go Rei-chan! It’s already this late!”

Looking at his human the blue haired dogboy followed his gaze and became stiff. It really was far too late!

Hurriedly putting their jackets and shoes on both left their flat with hands full of cases.

 

“Woah Tokyo is just sooooo biiiiig!” exclaimed Nagisa merrily while looking around. Rei walked exhausted beside him, observing his human closely so he wouldn’t get distracted by other things and leave their way. It wasn’t the only time he had to grab the other’s neck and remind him of their true destination.

After several minutes of crowded streets and masses of people the two of them finally made it to the apartment complex of their friends. Energetic as ever Nagisa rushed to the elevator and searched for the familiar last name. Of course he didn’t have to look long. Instantly hitting the button he couldn’t stand still. Hopping from one foot to the other he waited impatiently for a response.

“Nanase?” asked a calm deep voice.

“HARU-CHAN!” screamed Nagisa excited. “We are here! I’m so glad to see you again.”

Both could only hear a creak on the other end showing that the speaker had already hang up. Instead the elevator started moving towards the desired floor.

When Haru opened his front door knowing that the visitors would arrive shortly he was accompanied by a smiling and happily wagging Makoto.

Finally when the elevator doors opened both could only see a flash of blonde till Nagisa tackled his friend with full force. The dogboy had to support the other’s back from behind so he wouldn’t fall. Chuckling to himself Makoto enjoyed the view of a grumpy Haru and an excited Nagisa. The two friends were just so different but still cared for each other that his heart swelled. Noticing the blue haired dogboy Makoto took a step forward and relieved him from the heavy suitcases. 

“Welcome Rei. Hope your journey was pleasant” greeted the dogboy his fellow crossbreed.

“Ah hello Makoto-senpai! I’m glad to see you again. Yes our journey was pleasant but also exhausting.” And the other didn’t miss the brief peek at the blonde. Smiling knowingly he signaled Rei to follow him inside. 

Meanwhile Haru was successful in detaching his friend from himself so both of them could enter the flat.

Makoto was busy setting up the ‘guest room’ with Rei while Nagisa bombarded Haru with different questions about his life in Tokyo.

“Oh oh! And when will we start the party?” asked the blonde with curious pink eyes.

“Later. Rin and Sousuke are preparing everything” replied Haru calmly.

“Really?! I want to see! If we think about Rin-Rin it will be seriously scary, don’t you think?” exclaimed Nagisa merrily.

When his friend heard his words he hurriedly closed the other’s mouth with his hand and looked worriedly around. “Don’t tell Makoto” whispered Haru angrily.

With surprised eyes the blonde looked at him. “Why?”

Lifting his hand his friend explained, “Because Makoto gets easily scared. And when he knows that Rin’s party will be scary he won’t go over.”

“How do you know?”

Because I know Makoto, obviously, thought Haru to himself. “Because he would say that we should celebrate here instead.”

“Huh…” Nagisa looked at his friend in confusion.

“So no scaring, okay?” mumbled Haru.

“UAHHHHHH that’s so mean Haru-chan!” shouted Nagisa indignantly.

Two stern blue eyes finally silenced the blonde. 

“Okay…” he replied disappointed. “But we can still dress ourselves up, right?”

“Sure.”

With a big smile Nagisa ran to the two crossbreeds and shouted “Rei-chan!!!! Let’s change in our costumes!”

Haru looked after his friend and sighed. This would be a long long evening.

 

“Haru are you really sure I’m wearing it right?” asked Makoto worriedly while observing his reflection in the mirror.

The human needed a moment to take the view in. He had to thank Nagisa for the suggestion and online shop. Yes. Definitely.

The dogboy was wearing an authentic fireman outfit with overall, jacket and helmet. Hiding his tail and ears he looked like the real deal, especially with Makoto’s stature. Haru gaped the first time he wore it because it just suited him so much. Strong caring cheerful Makoto helping people in need. 

“Haru?”

“You look fine” replied the human calmly and tried to hide his excitement. Nevertheless he couldn’t help but blush every time he saw Makoto now. Annoying. He had to get used to it otherwise Rin and Nagisa would be teasing him all night long. Looking experimentally at the dogboy he couldn’t help himself but ogling him.

Noticing blue eyes on him the other smiled and asked,

“So what are you wearing Haru-chan?”

“Drop the –chan” mumbled Haru and turned to the closet. Extracting a big package he proudly showed his costume. The dogboy tilted his head to the side and looked at the cloth with questioning eyes.

“What is it?” He finally asked because he really couldn’t imagine how Haru would wear it. 

Understanding his confusion the human began to undress himself and Makoto had to hide his eyes behind his hands out of embarrassment. He still hadn’t got used to Haru’s nature of undressing himself without any worry in the world.

When he finally peeked through his fingers he unwillingly let his hands drop to his sides. With open mouth he stared at the human before him. There lying on the bed half naked was Haru while his legs were replaced by a beautiful light blue fin. The little scales shimmered so naturally that somebody could mistake it for real.

Noticing the other’s reaction Haru smirked proudly. Yes, his costume was also breathtaking and the best choice for him.

“Haru that is…” tried Makoto but failed to find the right words. Seeing Haru’s satisfied smile the dogboy returned it with a shy one of his own.

“Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Look look my new costume!” shouted Nagisa from the other side of the door and promptly entered the room without knocking.

“Woah! You both look so pretty!” exclaimed the blonde excited. 

“Thanks Nagisa” replied Makoto embarrassed while rubbing his head.

“Now look at me! Isn’t it cool?!” shouted the blonde and hopped around showing proudly his orange astronaut overall. “I even have a helmet and a little alien to go with!”

“That’s…really cute Nagisa” said Makoto with a smile.

Haru watched his friend and nodded when the dogboy spoke. 

Taking his words in Nagisa grinned proudly and rubbed his head. 

“You have to see Rei-chan! He looks so smart and somehow it really suits him!” he announced.

As being called the blue haired dogboy knocked lightly at the open door and poked his head inside. “May I enter?” he asked politely.

“Come in come in Rei-chan! Show them your costume!” invited Nagisa.

Proudly entering the room Rei was in his element. Adjusting his glasses with one hand he held a thick book in his other. The white lab coat was closed at the front but you could see the blue shirt and red tie under it. It just suited him so much that somebody could mistake him for a real scientist. Of course you could still see the dog ears but Rei didn’t show any sights of noticing it. 

Clearing his throat he looked expectantly at his friends.

“Rei-chan! You look so handsome and smart! Where’s your test tube?” asked Nagisa curiously.

“I put it on the table so it won’t break.”

“Awe but the test tube is the final touch to your costume!” pouted the blonde.

“I’ll take it with me when we go to the party.”

“Okay…”

“You look really good Rei” said Makoto encouragingly.

The dogboy looked at his friend with a light blush on his cheeks. “Thanks Makoto-senpai. You look really handsome yourself.”

Embarrassed by the exchanged words both turned their faces awkwardly away.

Tackling the blue haired dogboy for a hug Nagisa looked into lavender eyes and said cheerfully, “But I’m still the cutest, right Rei-chan?”

Spluttering Rei looked at the blonde and mumbled something only the human could understand. Satisfied with the answer he hugged him even tighter.

Haru watched the scene with slight irritation he wanted to hug Makoto too, but now wasn’t the appropriate time and he couldn’t ask for it so directly like his friend. Instead he thought of something else.

“Makoto.” 

The dogboy instantly turned his attention to his human and eyed him with a questioned look.

“Carry me” he demanded calmly.

“Huh?” Makoto tilted his head to the side and looked even more confused.

Haru peeked at his tail and returned his gaze to the other. Following his direction the dogboy finally understood.

With a light blush he protested softly, “But Haru-chan…”

His human stared at him with intense blue eyes and he could only follow his command.

Walking over to the bed Makoto carefully lifted his human and carried him with one arm under his legs and the other under his back. Haru on the other side laid his arms around Makoto’s neck. Grinning inside he looked at the other two friends.

Nagisa gaped while Rei cleared his throat.

“Haru-chan! That’s so cute!” chirped Nagisa cheerfully.

“Let’s go” announced his friend demandingly while pointing with his index finger to the door.

 

“Sousuke! Come on they are here!” shouted Rin from the other side of the flat. The dogboy was running a little bit late and had to finish dressing himself up. In contrast to his human who only had to decorate the flat he had to prepare the food, snacks and punch. Looking at his reflection in the mirror he put his hat on and gave himself a once over. Yes, everything was in order.

Turning around he walked over to the door and left his room. When he walked through the hall he was already hearing the others speaking merrily with each other. Straitening himself he entered the living room and took the scene in.

There standing in a round circle were Haru who was only wearing a fish fin and was carried by fireman Makoto (?), Nagisa who wore an astronaut costume and Rei who dressed himself up as…lab assistant? Doctor? Who knows. And finally Rin who wore the same costume as himself, a police officer outfit. 

Dammit he looked hot. Especially the handcuffs at his belt were the real deal because his human had bragged about it how he was able to buy it. 

All eyes were now on the black haired dogboy. The first one who spoke was Nagisa.

“Wow Sou-chan! You look awesome! And you and Rin-Rin are wearing the same costumes! Partner look! That’s so cute! Rei-chan and I should have done the same thing!” cheered Nagisa and walked around Sousuke to get a better look. 

“It really suits you” said Makoto with a smile. His friend rubbed embarrassed the back if his head and looked at his human for a response but Rin didn’t say anything. 

Instead Sousuke was greeted by an interesting sight. The mouth of his human was hanging slightly open while his cheeks were blushed prettily. When the redhead regained some of his composure he cleared his throat and mumbled,

“You look good” and crossed his arms while turning his face away.

Sousuke couldn’t stop himself from grinning. Walking over to his human, he leaned on him and smirked.

“Thanks, you too man” replied the dogboy teasingly.

“Sou-chan don’t tease poor Rin-Rin so much otherwise he’s blushing even more” whined Nagisa over exaggerated. 

Suddenly Rin spluttered uncontrollably and shoved the other away. “Stop it Sousuke!” he snapped while the rest of his friends laughed wholeheartedly.

When a light ring was heard everybody tried to make out the source. With a known look Sousuke walked over into the kitchen and the moment he opened the oven a delicious scent filled the flat.

“Awe that smells yummy…” said Nagisa while sniffing at the air.

The rest of his friends nodded approvingly. 

Meanwhile the black haired dogboy extracted two pizzas and put them on two big plates. Then he sliced them in respectively 8 pieces. When he was satisfied with the result he put the previously prepared unbaked pizzas into the oven and shut it closely. 

Balancing both plates on his hands he returned to the living room and set them on the prepared and decorated table aside. 

“Wow Sou-chan! That looks so delicious!” exclaimed the blonde with sparkling eyes already extending his arm to get a slice. Fortunately Rei was fast enough to stop him.

“It’s beautiful Sousuke-senpai” said the dogboy while holding his human’s arm and ignoring the pouting.

“Sousuke, it smells really delicious. You’re a great chief” chirped Makoto cheerfully while studying the pizzas with greedy eyes and watering mouth.

Haru looked at the black haired dogboy and nodded. Yes, he had to admit that he was able to cook, not as well as he of course but still better than Rin and faaaaaar better than Makoto (if you could consider Makoto’s acts in the kitchen as cooking).  
Noticing the blue eyes Sousuke returned the nod with a slight one of his own. Then he turned his attention to Rin and waited for his response.

“Well as I promised we would show you a taste you never tasted before!” exclaimed the redhead proudly, not noticing his rather cheesy reverence.

Haru shook his head and mumbled “Rin…” with a sigh but his friend didn’t notice it. He was far too busy to distribute the pizza slices.

“You can eat as much as you want. Sousuke and I prepared enough. We even tried different styles and toppings so it will vary with each one.” Rin explained merrily.

Looking at the happy expressions and satisfied sighs the black haired dogboy and the redhead looked at each other and grinned. Their whole experiment was a great success. Fist bumping each other both took a slice of their own and enjoyed the delicious flavor and repeating praises.

 

“Now it’s time to watch horror movies” said Rin with a toothy grin while showing his teeth off.  
“Ah…I don’t…” mumbled Makoto slightly panicked.

“No” replied Haru firmly and crossed his arms.

“Why Haru?! It’s Halloween and we always watch horror movies after dinner. It matches the mood so what’s your problem?”

“No means no” answered Haru firmly and turned his face away.

“Come on Haru-chan don’t be a party booper” whined Nagisa and pulled on his arms.

Feeling a warm weight on his shoulder Haru turned around to see Makoto looking at him. “It’s fine Haru.” ‘Thanks for protecting me’ added his green eyes and the soft smile.

‘You sure you’re fine?’ asked blue questioning eyes.

The brunette dogboy nodded.

“Fine” mumbled Haru and moved over so Makoto had enough space to sit beside him.

“Geez man you’re really moody today” complained Rin while inserting the DVD in the DVD player.

Sitting down Makoto tried to suppress the upcoming shivering. He wasn’t good with scary things. Especially horror movies were a nightmare for him. But he didn’t want to disappoint his friends and spoil the fun so he would have to overcome his fears. Right?

After a few minutes since the movie started Makoto already hid his eyes behind his hands. From time to time he would look through his fingers when Haru signed him that everything was okay.

In the end it was a rather embarrassing and nerve-racking experience for the dogboy. Without his human who sometimes turned his face forcefully to the side when monsters on the screen appeared he wouldn’t have survived this. 

“Awe this movie was rather boring” complained Nagisa while shoving a hand full of popcorn in his mouth.

“Well if you consider scientific knowledge it was rather unrealistic” commented Rei and adjusted his glasses. Nevertheless he couldn’t deny that from time to time he would shriek by the sudden appearance of monsters.

“Nagisa, stop the spoilers for fucks sake! Not everybody here had seen this movie till now” snapped Rin angrily and crossed his arms.

“Come on Rin-Rin, it was rather obvious that Laura would survive the attack and find Bob in the woods” replied the blonde innocently.

“Geez Nagisa if you do this again I shut your mouth with a sock!”

“Woah scary!” he shouted exaggerated and hid himself behind Rei.

“So which movie next?” asked Sousuke nonchalantly.

In contrast to the rest he wasn’t quite affected by the movies. Yes, he enjoyed it to some extend but it wasn’t his genre. Sometimes when he watched Makoto or Rei or even Rin he couldn’t understand how they could be scared of something like that. It wasn’t like this stuff was real, right?

“Oh we could watch ‘ Alien attack’ or ‘Blood Moon II’. And I have some werewolf movie called ‘Last bite’.” The redhead explained while switching through the DVDs.

“Blood Moon II! I like the main character and the fight scenes!” exclaimed Nagisa enthusiastically.

Rin looked at his other friends. Haru only shrugged while Makoto was still hiding behind his human. Rei on the other side nodded while Sousuke shrugged too.

Feeling mercy for the poor brunette dogboy Rin said softly, “Or maybe we should watch something else?”

“YES!” shrieked Makoto unwillingly loud. Surprised by the sudden outburst all eyes turned on him. Rubbing his head awkwardly he stuttered, “Ah w-well we COULD watch something else, like maybe something eh…” ‘not scary’ was on his lips but he couldn’t say it out loud. It was Halloween and they were supposed to watch scary things.

“Something with more action?” he proposed unsurely. 

“Hm…let’s see…” Rin searched through his DVD collection till he found the right movie.

“How about ‘Deadly Infection’? It’s a mix between action and thriller” he explained thoughtfully.

“Okay” replied Makoto in a small voice and the others nodded.

 

In the end the movie was far lighter than the previous one, thought the brunette dogboy. Even if there were some scary parts it was bearable and Makoto was so proud of himself that he had watched the movie completely.

With shining eyes he looked at his human who returned the gesture with a small smile.

“This movie was actually pretty good. Especially the beautiful explanation and presentation of the disease’s origin” said Rei enthusiastically.

Lifting one of his eyebrows Rin didn’t reply anything. He knew that the dogboy had some weird taste and as long as he enjoyed the movie it was the only thing that mattered.

“Ne Rin-chan, can we finally drink the punch?” asked Nagisa with big pink eyes.

“I guess. Sousuke prepared it so he has the last word.” 

Shifting his gaze to the black haired dogboy the blonde pleaded, “Sou-chan can we finally drink something of this delicious looking punch?”

“Yeah” mumbled Sousuke and shrugged.

The fruits were soaked, the punch was cold and fresh, so everything was ready.

“YAY!” And within an instant Nagisa jumped upwards and armed himself with one of the glasses.

For a moment the dogboy asked himself how the blonde managed to get a glass before everybody else but in the end it didn’t matter. When the human tasted the red cold liquid he sighed contently.

“So delicious!”

With a slight grin Sousuke walked over to the punch bowl and filled the glasses equally. Then he distributed them between his friends.

 

“Haru-chaaaaan! This p-punch is so sweeeeeeeet” slurred Makoto and took another sip of his glass.

Taking the glass out of the other’s hands Haru drank the rest of the punch and frowned. 

“So meeeeaaaaan” whined the dogboy and clumsily tried to fetch the glass.

“You’re drunk.” His human stated nonchalantly and looked at the dogboy. His eyes were glassy and fogged while his cheeks were colored in a light blush.

“I’m nohoooot. Let me drink something more it’s so sweet and yummy and…” Makoto stopped in the middle of his sentence when his eyes fell on a bowl filled with snacks on the coffee table.

“Oh chips! I love chips!” he exclaimed merrily and extended his arm while crawling onto Haru’s lap for better access. Shoving a handful in his mouth he crunched happily.

“Wow, Mako-chan is really drunk” announced Nagisa with a devilish grin.

“Sousuke, how much liquor did you put in the punch?” asked Rin concerned.

Crossing his arms the black haired dogboy answered, “Only the needed amount, I even halved it.”

“Hm, seems like Makoto can’t hold his liquor” said the redhead thoughtfully. 

“Wow Haru-chan, your tail is so pretty…” mumbled Makoto and touched the shining scales. Running his hands over Haru’s legs and waist, suddenly the other announced sternly,

“Time to go home.” 

With big green eyes the brunette dogboy looked at his human. “No Haru-chan I want to stay!”

“No. Time to sleep.”

“But I don’t want to” whined Makoto and rubbed his head on Haru’s lap. 

“Makoto.”

When stern blue eyes met glassy green ones the dogboy became quiet.

“Fine” he mumbled defeated and tried to stand up but wobbled uncontrollably in the process. Supporting him at his shoulders and waist Haru stood up.

“Wait, sit here for a moment I have to change.”

Placing the dogboy carefully on the couch his human slipped out of his costume and took it over his arm. Now Haru was standing in his swim suit and bare upper half before Makoto who studied his body with big eyes.

“Haru-chan, you are almost naked” he announced unintelligently.

The other sighed and ignored the comment, instead he replied, “Come on, take my arm.”

Extending his arm Haru helped the dogboy up and stabilized his walking. 

“I’ll open the door for you” said Rin with a hint of concern and walked past the leaving guests. “I’ll be right back.”

“Bye Haru-chan, bye Mako-chan. See you later!” Nagisa cheered and waved his good bye.

“I’ll leave the key here” said Haru and looked over his shoulder to peek at his friend.

“All right Haruka-senpai. See you later. And get well Makoto-senpai” replied Rei.

Sousuke waved after them feeling guilty that he didn’t check his best friend’s tolerance for liquor. On the other side how was he supposed to know? Both didn’t drink alcohol in the past.  
With a frown he studied the punch bowl while recapitulating the recipe in his mind.

“It’s fine Sou-chan. It’s not your fault.”

Surprised the black haired dogboy looked at the blonde human who smiled softly.

“The tolerance for alcohol differs from person to person. If you consider the age, weight, height and gender of the individual you can still only calculate a general result.”

“Eh…thanks guys” replied Sousuke embarrassed while rubbing his neck. Was he that easy to read?

“So… … The evening is young! Let’s enjoy ourselves!” exclaimed Nagisa enthusiastically and jumped on the couch.

“Be careful Nagisa, this is dangerous” lectured the blue haired dogboy while hastily walking over to the couch.

“Ah don’t be scared Rei-chan! It’s really fun bouncing around” and to show him the proof the blonde bounced on the couch up and down while laughing happily. 

“Nagisaaaaaa!” whined the dogboy while trying to hold the human still.

Sousuke watched the scene and chuckled softly. Seriously, these guys were a crazy bunch but he came to like every one of them.


	24. First Sleep Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! And I'm so sorry that it took so long to update -.- I'm busy with work and have almost no time or energy to write something down. But now Christmas was around the corner and I had finally free time to continue. Thank you for all your support till now *(*´∀｀*)☆ I'm really happy that you enjoyed this story and keep following! Thanks a lot (っ*´∀｀*)っ  
> Oh and actually I'm quite conflicted how the end turned out because atm I can't really say if it fits the characters so please let me know what you think about it. Don't worry next chapter will be more action and more fun (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ you can all guess who the new owner will be ヾ(*ゝω・*)ノ  
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, see you next time ~ヾ(＾∇＾)

After three rounds of rock paper scissors the winner grinned victoriously at the loser.

“YES!” shouted Rin happily while clenching his fist.

“Tch.” Sousuke crossed his arms in defeat. 

Even though he lost he wasn’t that unhappy about the outcome. If he was honest he was quite pleased with it. Sleeping in Rin’s room, sleeping in Rin’s bed, sleeping beside Rin, Rin’s scent surrounding him…

The expectation was truly something he was looking forward to. Therefore he tried his best to look displeased and frowned deeply while looking angry.

With arms akimbo Rin took a deep breath and explained, “Then it’s decided. Ai, Momo you will take Sosuke’s room for now. Sosuke, you’ll take your necessary belongings for now to my room. I’ll set the futon.” 

The black haired dogboy blinked a few times in confusion. 

Wait…futon? Nobody said something about a futon…

He looked at his human with lifted eyebrows. 

As if reading his mind Rin answered, “Dude we don’t fit in my bed. You’re too big.”

And with this announcement Sosuke’s sweet expectation got brutally crushed. Covering his disappointment he turned his face to the other side. “But the futon isn’t comfortable” he mumbled grumpily. 

“Man, don’t pout. I can take the futon too, or we play rock paper scissors again to decide every night.” Rin proposed.

‘But I want to sleep with you’ pleaded teal eyes but the black haired dogboy kept stubbornly his mouth tightly shut. Of course Sosuke wouldn’t say it out loud, it was far too embarrassing. 

Accepting his fate he followed his human with a frown and dropped ears to their flat. 

Meanwhile Haru and Makoto exchanged worried looks while their friends left the room. The brunette dogboy had noticed the tiny sparkling in his friend’s teal eyes and of course he could understand the other’s excitement. 

And now letting his excitement being crushed like that…he couldn’t deny that he would also be disappointed if he were in Sousuke’s shoes. On the other hand noticing the strange exchanges between Ai and Rin was quite puzzling and he could only imagine that his friend would be on edge. 

With eyes full of worry he turned his face to his human.

“We will check on them” announced Haru calmly while his eyes were still glued to the closed door.

 

When Sosuke searched through his room to grab his necessary stuff his eyes fell on the little piglet hiding behind his pillow. Looking around he took the little toy out of his hiding place and stuffed it into the pile of clothes he was taking to the other room. Observing for a brief moment his surroundings he finally nodded and walked over to Rin’s room. 

At first he entered it with a little hesitation but knowing that his human was far too busy with the newcomers he took a big step over the threshold and studied his surroundings. It had been a while since he entered this room and Rin’s scent hit him hard. It was everywhere: His clothes lying on one of his seats, the bed with its fluffy pillows, the closet…

Sosuke took a long breath through his nose and enjoyed it with closed eyes. Reminding himself of his task he walked over to the other side of the bed and placed his pile of clothes carefully down. There wasn’t much he needed and this would work out just fine. Walking over to the door he peeked one last time over his shoulder to his new sleeping place and Rin’s bed. 

Hiding a grin behind his hand he walked through the hallway with wagging tail. After regaining his composure he entered the living room where Rin and the others talked enthusiastically about their upcoming stay over. Sosuke let his eyes wander over the scene before him and sighed inaudibly. 

He felt bad for being so selfish, especially now that he witnessed Ai’s and Momo’s relaxed and happy expressions. Sitting down on the sofa without another word he listened to their conversation.

After a while the human looked at the clock and gasped.

“It’s really late guys! Let’s go to bed, I prepare the futons.” Standing up Rin walked over to the other rooms and disappeared. 

“So we are sleeping together right?” asked Momo merrily and looked at the other two crossbreeds.

“Mhm” grunted Sosuke. “You’re both sleeping in my room.”

“Ah I see! And how big is you bed? Do we both fit? Is it double sized? Can you bounce on it?” The orange haired dogboy bombarded the other with so many questions at the same time that Sousuke sighed relieved when he could hear his human’s footsteps from the hallway.

“The futons are ready, brush your teeth then go to bed” announced Rin.

“Aye!” replied Momo and stood up while taking Ai’s hand and dragged him along. 

When both disappeared Sosuke snorted and smirked at the redhead. “Dude, are you their mom?” he asked teasingly.

With an angry glare Rin focused the dogboy and grabbed a cushion on the couch. Aiming at the other’s face Sousuke easily dodged and began to laugh.

“Shut up!” shouted his human embarrassed and tried to hit him again.

 

 

When Sosuke made himself comfortable on the futon he looked at the pile of clothes right beside his head. It was a new habit of him to sleep with the plush piglet in his arms but now it was impossible to do that especially with Rin around. So he sighed and turned to the other side too tired to think of any ways to sneak it into his arms. 

“Good night” mumbled a tired voice from upwards and Sosuke couldn’t suppress the soft smile on his lips when he heard his human. Even if he wasn’t sleeping directly with Rin it was still enough for him to be near him. 

Mumbling a soft ‘good night’ back he rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes. The day was rather long for him. Thinking about the last few hours he pressed his nose into the pillow. His plan had to wait and he would fight for Rin’s attention even if he was fighting against a cute little silver haired catboy.   
When the picture of Ai came to his mind he reminded himself that the catboy was still one of his friends and that he should keep himself in check. Only if he would approach his human would he openly act. Otherwise he would only observe, pay attention, wait for his moment. 

Still…this little scene he witnessed in the living room didn’t leave his mind. There was something going on…and he wanted to know what it was…  
Twitching his nose unknowingly he huffed once and reminded himself of going to fucking sleep.

 

When Sousuke opened his eyes again he felt like being crushed by something heavy and warm. Observing the weight on his side he recognized the mop of red hair and the familiar scent surrounding him. Blinking a few times for better vision he saw that Rin was literally sleeping on top of him with a far too relaxed and innocent expression for this situation. 

Trying to shift under the body after a few attempts Sosuke gave up. Sighing exhausted he surrendered himself to his fate. But…it was nice…being only a breath away from his human…

Releasing one of his hands from under the blanket he stroked the red hair with utmost care. He didn’t want to disturb Rin so he touched the other’s skin feather light, too afraid that the redhead might notice his act. With a loving smile he studied the relaxed features of Rin’s beautiful face while reminding himself that there was no way he would be able to go to the bathroom if he needed to. So he calmed himself down and tried to sleep for the rest of the night but of course it was impossible for the poor dogboy who was overwhelmed by love, longing and desire. 

 

“Oy Sosuke wake up! It’s already late!”

Sousuke grunted in reply but didn’t make any attempt on getting up, instead he hid his head under the blanket and shut his eyes tightly. 

With arms akimbo Rin loomed over him and frowned.

“Don’t ignore me, come on breakfast is ready and the other two are already up.”

The dogboy grunted again. One of his teal eyes blinked out of the cushions and observed his human. 

The redhead only sighed and was beginning to turn around when Sosuke suddenly jumped on him.

“What the hell man!” cursed Rin when he was buried under blankets and Sousuke’s weight. 

‘Revenge for last night’ thought the dogboy and smirked.

Of course he was kinda annoyed by his move but seeing Sosuke acting so childish and adorable Rin couldn’t stay angry so he only grumbled for good reason. Deep down he enjoyed the sweet warmth of the other. Nevertheless two other crossbreeds were waiting for them so he couldn’t laze around like that, even if he liked it. Therefore he patted Sousuke’s shoulder for his attention. He knew that the other was no morning person and took especially long to wake up.

“Come on big guy. I made breakfast. Today’s special is grilled ham” said Rin with a grin.

Black ears peeked suddenly up. “Ham?” mumbled the dogboy in interest.

“Yeah, come on otherwise Momo will eat everything before we return.”

And within the next moment Sosuke was standing while scratching himself behind his ears. He lazily walked over to the door not bothering to use the bathroom first. Ham was the top priority now and he wouldn’t allow Momo to eat it up especially because it had been ages since the last time they had grilled ham. Rin’s nutrition plan was pretty strict so sooner or later he had to adjust to it because it was far too bothersome to cook two different meals. Additionally it would have been mean to eat something his human couldn’t have.

 

Taking his usual seat he studied the table before him. Relieved he noticed that the other’s hadn’t started. 

“Morning Sousuke-senpai!” greeted Momo enthusiastically with a grin on his face.

“Good Morning Sousuke-senpai” said Ai softly while looking at him shyly.

“Morning” replied the black haired dogboy simply. Peeking at his human he waited for him to announce the usual saying.

Everybody was looking at the redhead with pulled out chopsticks ready to dig in.

Rin on the other hand sat slowly down on his seat and grinned widely. “Now enjoy this awesome meal cooked by the chef himself!” 

Within seconds the three crossbreeds stuffed their mouths full with meat and fish while Rin gaped. Then he regained his composure and competed with the others for the remaining meat.

 

 

When the door closed Haru remained at his seat for a few moments till he stood up and walked over to clean the coffee table. Makoto joined him shortly after and both worked silently side by side for a few minutes. Dropping the last dirty dish into the soap water Makoto waited readily with a kitchen towel in his hands for Haru to hand him the wet clean dish over. 

While Haru cleaned the dishes one after another he thought about their new friends and possible future owners in his circle of acquaintances. His thoughts were interrupted when Makoto looked at him with concerned eyes.

“Huh?”

“I called you a few times but you didn’t react” explained the dogboy. “We finished the dishes.”

Looking at the now empty sink Haru’s eyes grew a fraction wider. “Ah” escaped his lips while he drained the soap water.

Makoto’s tail wagged uneasily from side to side. “We will check on them, right?” he asked unsurely.

Haru peeked at the dogboy and nodded. “Mhm.”

Makoto looked at his human’s hand while biting his lips. With new resolve he took the other’s hand and softly but firmly lead his human to the couch. Then he sat down beside him and squeezed Haru’s hand gently. 

“And then we will find suitable owners for Ai and Momo and they will be as happy as Sosuke and I am,” he said hastily but firmly. He really believed in his words and with shining green eyes he looked at his human.

Haru held his breath. In this moment Makoto looked so beautiful and strong that he didn’t know what to do so he turned his gaze away and looked embarrassed at their joined hands.

The dogboy smiled happily with wagging tail. Everything would be alright. He knew it.

Peeking at the other Haru couldn’t help but smile too. The brunette dogboy was just too adorable. Without thinking he took the other’s hand and kissed it tenderly with closed eyes.   
He was just so glad that Makoto was with him and that he could make him happy with the simplest actions.

When Haru’s lips touched his skin Makoto’s breath hitched. With big eyes he stared at his human while feeling the blush creeping over his cheeks.

When two deep blue eyes observed him curiously he could only held his breath. What was Haru doing? Well of course he knew what he was doing but he was not prepared, he didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t panic” mumbled Haru while closing the distance between them. Hearing his human’s words Makoto began to breathe again but he couldn’t calm down because Haru’s face was just too close and…

Feeling Haru’s soft lips on his cheek his heart rate increased drastically. With uneven breaths he watched the other’s hands disappearing under his shirt.

“Ha-Haru…” he squeaked nervously.

“It’s fine” replied his human while staring at the other’s mouth. Looking at the dogboy he silently told him what he was expecting and when Makoto’s face wasn’t fully blushed before then it was now. 

“H-H-H-Haru…” he stuttered embarrassed. Feeling his human’s breath on his lips was torture. How could he…

‘Do it Makoto, kiss me.’

Haru could see Makoto’s battle inside his eyes: Longing but hesitating to close the few inches between them. So he waited patiently till the dogboy’s desire would overcome his shyness. 

It was just then that Makoto closed his eyes tightly, clenched his hands nervously and touched the other’s lips with his own.

When both their lips moved together in sync Makoto sighed contently. When Haru retreated a little bit he licked his lips and appreciated the sight of the flustered dogboy. 

“You have to get used to it by now” teased Haru with a small smile. 

Makoto spluttered and replied scandalized, “H-H-Haru!” 

He didn’t have enough time to say something else because his human was already attacking his mouth again.

Wrapping his arms around the dogboy Haru deepened the kiss. Feeling the soft but firm muscles under the shirt he couldn’t’ stop himself from touching the other’s skin directly. Slowly slipping his fingers further under the fabric he finally touched Makoto’s back directly. Tracing the flushed skin he could recognize the old scars under his fingertips. Haru slightly frowned by the thought of Makoto being hurt in the past. It still irritated him and if he knew who had done this he would have already punished this person.

Suddenly the dogboy began to shiver uncontrollably and broke the kiss. With big green eyes he looked at his human in terror while he suppressed the upcoming tears. He didn’t know what was wrong with him but all of a sudden he was so scared even though it was his beloved human who touched him.

Haru returned his shocked expression with one of his own. He didn’t know what was going on or why Makoto reacted like this. Did he do something wrong? 

Cupping Makoto’s flushed cheeks with both of his hands he looked into green watery eyes.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked silently.

“Ah…I don’t know…Haru…I’m so sorry” whimpered the brunette dogboy vulnerably. “I don’t know… one moment everything was fine and then suddenly I was so scared…”

“It’s okay”, replied Haru while stroking the other’s cheeks softly. “We can take our time…”

“No Haru, it’s not okay” answered Makoto irritated. “It’s the second time already that something like this happened and I can’t stop myself and it makes me so mad because I really want you to touch me but my body…” He took a deep shaking breath.

“Makoto. Look at me” demanded Haru gently but firmly. 

The dogboy nervously returned his human’s gaze and suddenly when he looked into Haru’s blue eyes full of love and care he gradually calmed down. Evening his breathing he drowned in these beautiful eyes he came to love. Finally the shivering stopped and Makoto relaxed.

“Don’t blame yourself. You did nothing wrong” said Haru firmly.

“O-okay…” replied the dogboy weakly. 

Taking the other’s hands in his Haru looked at their joined hands and mumbled, “We will overcome this. We promised.”

Makoto blinked a few times while his eyes grew a fraction wider. Right, they did promise. 

With a bright smile on his lips he closed his eyes and nodded, “Yeah.”

 

 

Sosuke was irritated. 

When everybody had finished breakfast and Rin left for his training the black haired dogboy had returned to his human’s room for a short nap. With a full stomach he had been even sleepier than before, feeling the missing night hours in his whole body. So he had told the other two to enjoy themselves while he would take a short nap.

But when he returned to the living room after several hours he witnessed something weird. Every time when Ai and Momo’s eyes would meet for a brief moment both would turn their heads awkwardly to the other side, pretending that nothing had happened.

The only thing that came to Sousuke’s mind was ‘weird’. Slumping loudly down on the couch he observed the other two some more.

They tried to evade eye contact but why? Lifting one of his eyebrows Sousuke cerebrated. Crossing his arms his tail wagged from side to side while eyeing the two of them. Momo noticed the unfamiliar attention on him and turned his head towards the other dogboy. 

“Something wrong Sousuke-senpai?” asked Momo naively. 

“Why don’t you talk to each other?” he asked nonchalantly. He wasn’t the guy who bet around the bush.

“Eh…ahahaha…” The other dogboy looked at his lap while rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t know what you mean…”

Frowning slightly Sosuke asked the other, “Ai?”

“Ah!” The catboy winched unwillingly and looked at the black haired dogboy. Meeting teal eyes he turned his gaze to his hands. “Eh…don’t worry Sousuke-senpai, it’s nothing serious…”

“Did you fight?”

“Ah…no…” Looking around in search for help Ai’s ears perked up when he heard the clicking of the entrance door.

Sosuke was just about to ask for more details when his human entered the living room with a big grin and a sports bag over his shoulder.

“Hey guys!” greeted Rin cheerfully.

“Welcome back!” replied the two newcomers while the black haired dogboy mumbled a grumpy ‘yo’.

 

Now he was even more irritated. There was something between the two of them and it was weird as fuck. Still, it wasn’t his business so why should he care? 

Annoyed by his new behaviour he grunted disapprovingly. Makoto rubbed off on him.

“What’s wrong big guy? Hungry again?” asked Rin jokily.

“No” replied the dogboy with a frown while looking at Momo and Ai.

Following his gaze Rin noticed that Sosuke was staring at the other crossbreeds. Confused he lifted his eyebrows and also studied the two.

“Ah..hahaha Rin-senpai, you must be tired! How about a warm relaxing bath?” Momo proposed with a hint of nervousness.

“Well…” putting his bag down the redhead couldn’t deny that it sounded tempting, especially after a long and hard training day. Meeting teal eyes he noticed the slight nod of the dogboy. Replying with a small nod too he finally said,

“Fine. I’ll be right back.” For one last time he looked at Ai and Momo from over his shoulder while leaving the living room.

With Rin’s absence Sosuke now could finally pursue the source of his irritation. Standing up, he walked over to the others and crossed his arms. With a deep frown he fixated the both of them and waited for their response.

While Ai shivered frightfully Momo nervously looked at his feet.

“Talk” commanded the older dogboy firmly.

After a few moments of silence Momo’s resolve broke.

“Okay, okay fine! Stop looking so scary already!” Taking a deep breath the orange haired dogboy continued, “We somehow fought, okay? I’m…eh…”rubbing the back of his head he mumbled” I’m jealous of Rin because Ai pays more attention to him instead of me…”

“M-M-Momo that’s not true!” stuttered the catboy embarrassed.

“It is! The only thing you’re talking about now is how nice and pretty and strong Rin-senpai is and how you admire him and…”

“Stop it!” shouted Ai with a bright red face and leaped at his friend. Covering the other’s mouth with both of his hands he sighed relieved when Momo was silenced.

“I see…” mumbled Sosuke thoughtfully. He wished that Makoto would be here because he would know what to do or what to say. He wasn’t the ideal type to deal with this kind of stuff…or to be precisely he was bad at dealing with emotional stuff. 

With big eyes Ai looked at the black haired dogboy in shock. He had almost forgotten that Sosuke-senpai was still here and how scary he was the last few minutes.

The black haired dogboy peeked at the catboy before him from the corner of his eyes and sighed. Then he rubbed the back of his head and tried to find the right words to say.

“Listen. I’m not mad at you or something…I was just confused why you acted this way. You are friends and I was kinda…worried” mumbled the dogboy. “I…can…help you with solving this situation…”

“Sosuke-senpai…” whispered Momo softly. He was touched by these simple words. “You’re really kind” he said with a grin on his face.

“Ugh…” turning his face awkwardly away Sosuke peeked at the other crossbreed.

“That’s really nice of you Sosuke-senpai, but I think we have to solve it ourselves” replied Ai and looked shyly at the other.

“Fine then…I guess I go back to napping and you talk to each other, okay?” proposed the black haired dogboy and observed the two before him.

Both nodded simultaneously and returned his gaze.

Nodding once as response, he turned around and went back to Rin’s room. Closing the door he slumped down on his futon and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. Would these two end their fight? Would they reconcile? Did he even help?

Turning on his side he closed his eyes and huffed. Whatever…

They said that they didn’t need help so he would take a little nap and when he would wake up everything would be fine again. So he closed his eyes and waited for his sleep.

But Sosuke didn’t consider that he already cared so much for these two that he couldn’t leave them alone therefore after a few minutes he stood up and tip toed to the entrance of the living room.

He wouldn’t eavesdrop. He would only check on them so that the argument wouldn’t escalate. Right, he would look out for them. Only intervene when needed. Nodding once the black haired dogboy huddled behind the corner and straightened his ears.

 

When Sosuke left the living room Ai and Momo looked at each other for a brief moment till they broke their eye contact again.

Rubbing the back of his head Momo turned his eyes away and mumbled, “I’m sorry Ai-chi for being such a douche bag…But I really am jealous of Rin-senpai and I can’t stop it!”

Filled with embarrassment Ai replied, “Momo…You don’t have to be jealous, we will be friends forever. I’m just… I’m really grateful and I like Rin-senpai a lot and -“

“But which one do you like more?!” asked the dogboy uneasily while his tail wagged slowly from side to side.

“Eh?!” The catboy blinked a few times.

“I like you Ai-chi! I like you the most! So I want you to like me the most too! I always have this pouting in my chest when we are together and I’m really happy being with you but I don’t like how you look at Rin-senpai. I want you to look only at me!” exclaimed Momo desperately. 

With big light blue eyes the catboy looked flabbergasted at his friend. What did he mean? How did he look at Rin-senpai? 

Ai hadn’t enough time to think any longer. Leaping at the catboy Momo pushed the other down and towered over him. Searching light blue eyes for any sights of understanding his words he kept looking at the catboy who was now only a few inches away from him. Taking a quick sniff he couldn’t help but silently sigh at the delicious scent his friend was emitting. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment while he indulged himself in the satisfaction he was feeling.

On the other side Ai stared at the orange haired dogboy in shock. He knew that Momo was impulsive but he would have never guessed that he would go this far as overstepping a personal boundary he had clearly made and taught him. 

Now he was feeling quite uneasy by the sudden contact and by their positions: With Momo towering over him Ai couldn’t help but feel frightened. With dropped ears and tail between his legs he shyly looked into golden clouded eyes. Maybe he should try talking to him? Maybe that would help?

As the catboy tried to say the other’s name his voice cracked. With growing panic he tried over and over again to say this one word but he couldn’t. In desperation he searched the other’s face for any sights of recognition, that Momo would understand how stressed and frightened he was feeling right now but the dogboy had closed his eyes and so there was no other contact available anymore.

Ai gulped and turned his face away. 

Think think think. 

Pressing his lips to a tight line the catboy took a deep breath and gathered all of his courage. Opening his eyes again he focused his friend and said in a strong and serious voice, 

“MOMO!”

Within seconds the dogboy blinked a few times and looked around. Then he became aware of their positions and immediately jumped backwards, hitting the couch with the back of his head. Rubbing the bump he lowered his eyes and mumbled, 

“I’m sorry Ai.”

The catboy sighed in relieve. Finally he was free again but on the other hand he asked himself how this could happen. Why did Momo jump at him? Studying the orange haired dogboy before him he couldn’t stay angry. Then something clicked in his mind and it made all sense now: He was the one who drove Momo to his actions because he didn’t respond to his feelings. He didn’t take him seriously and so the oh so simple dogboy tried to show him how serious he was. 

And back to the topic: What did Momo mean with him looking at Rin-senpai? Was there a special way? Did he think that he was in lo-lo-ve with the human? Feeling the heat in his cheeks Ai gulped. Of course he liked him because he helped him and he was cool and pretty and…

Yes he liked Rin-senpai but there was no way he would get intimate with him because he was his idol, the person he wanted to be. He adored him, he worshipped him and of course he paid attention to him but why didn’t Momo understand? It didn’t mean that he was less important. Additionally these two were completely different in his eyes and it was unthinkable of comparing both of them with each other.

With this new awareness and new found resolve Ai finally knew what to do. He had to explain his friend clearly otherwise another misunderstanding would take place. So he cleared his throat and looked right at the dogboy who tried to evade the other’s gaze at all cost.

“Momo.” 

Peeking at the catboy Momo waited for the other’s outburst of anger because he really deserved it. He knew that what he did was wrong and he still asked himself how he was able to do something like that.

“What you did was wrong and you know that. But I have to apologize too for not listening to you properly. I like Rin-senpai, that is true but I like you too. Rin-senpai is the person I admire: strong, courageous, pretty and fearless. You on the other hand are my best friend. We managed to survive on the street because we were together and I wouldn’t change that. Without you I would still live in the animal shelter, waiting for my death or next irresponsible owner.”

“But I’m still jealous of Rin-senpai” mumbled Momo and pursed his lips.

“Momo…” Sighing the catboy shook his head. His friend could be such a child sometimes…

After a few moments Momo crawled a little bit closer and asked curiously, “Ne Ai-chi…can I touch you from no on?”

Ai blinked a few times in surprise.

Without waiting for a reply the dogboy began to blabber rapidly, “I really want to hold your hand and sleep next to you and I really want to cuddle with you and-“

While listening to the other’s words Ai could feel the rising heat in his cheeks. 

“M-Momo!” he exclaimed scandalized. Looking around he made sure that nobody else caught these embarrassing words. Then he straightened himself and cleared his throat so the dogboy would listen to him. 

“Well, you see…” Ai turned his face to the other side, trying to hide his blush. “You can do that when I’ll allow it…”

“Huh?” For a few moments the dogboy was completely silent and finally when realisation hit him his eyes became big. 

“You have to wait for my permission, understand?!” added his friend hastily.

“Seriously?!” Momo almost screamed out of surprise.

Ai nodded once while peeking at the other from the corner of his eyes.

“THAT’S SO AWESOME AI-CHI!” exclaimed the dogboy excited and with wagging tail almost leaped again at the catboy but this time Ai extended his arms and stopped the other.

“Stop it Momo! I already told you ‘only when I allow it’!”

Sitting back the dogboy slightly cocked his head and grinned embarrassed. Rubbing the back of his head he apologized with a toothy grin.

“Sorry Ai-chi.”

Sighing the catboy crossed his arms and lifted one of his eyebrows. “If you don’t behave you won’t get the opportunity.”

“I will behave! I will behave!” exclaimed Momo instantly. 

“Good.” With a little smile Ai stood up and walked over to his friend. Patting the dogboy’s head he enjoyed Momo’s happy expression und fluffy hair.  
Moving his tail from side to side Ai realized that something changed inside him and he asked himself what it was.


End file.
